


In the Course of Time

by nanuk_dain



Series: In A Lifetime [1]
Category: Lord of the Rings (2001 2002 2003)
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Angst, First Time, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-04
Updated: 2011-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-19 00:15:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 57,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/194796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Take it Haldir did neither die nor get seriously injured in the Battle of Helm's Deep and joined the Men of Rohan with his Elven archers for the battle for Gondor. In Éomer, he finds a leader equally strong headed as he is himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Course of Time

  
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](http://pics.livejournal.com/nanuk_dain/pic/0002ywsq)   


The battering ram of Sauron's army dashed against the Hornburg's door with so much force it was certain that the the door would not be able to resist much longer. Haldir watched Aragorn talk intensely to Rohan's King and wondered for a second about Aragorn's patience. This moment was indeed the exactly wrong moment to despair for the Men King, his strength was desperately needed to keep his Men together and protect their women and children. Somehow Aragorn seemed to succeed and Haldir watched with contentment how the fighting spirit returned to the King. The battle may be desperate, but it was not yet lost.

Only moments later Haldir found himself on one of Rohan's horses, next to him Legolas, in front of him Aragorn and King Theoden. Then the Uruk-Hai broke through the wooden doors and the party of Men and Elves was riding out, through the attacking forces of evil, over the bridge leading from the Hornburg into the mass of the enemy army. It was a desperate move, bound to fail; Haldir knew that, but he felt the strength of the moment, the passion of the Men that seemed to consume him and he fought with the same urge and will they had. In the glance of a moment, he saw the same engagement and devotion in Legolas' face and for a split second, he somehow understood why the Prince of Mirkwood liked the presence of Men.

Haldir swung his sword, impaled an Uruk-Hai on one side of his horse, then beheaded another one on the other side. The creatures stumbled from the narrow bridge, fell to death and still there always seemed to be more to come. The battle had gone on for the whole night by now and Haldir knew they had reduced Sauron's army by a good many, but there were too many left to be defeated by their little mounted party. The hopelessness of their situation only seemed to fuel the fighting spirit of the Men and Haldir felt their energy jump over to him, motivate him, make him fight with all he had left. He heard himself scream as he sliced through the Orc next to him, then another one.

And then there was light. The sun was on the point of rising, there was a faint but growing glow in the east on top of the mountain, and in the middle of it was the stature of the white wizard on Shadowfax. Out of the eye, Haldir saw Aragorn still for a moment and only due to his sharp Elven hearing he noticed Aragorn's mumbled “Gandalf”. Relief flooded Haldir's heart at the sight of Mithrandir alive and he could not help a small smile come to his features. Then there appeared a warrior behind Gandalf and Haldir felt a shiver run down his spine when he heard a strong voice call for the Rohirrim Riders. Their rescue had finally arrived.

With new found strength, Haldir threw himself into battle. Sauron's army turned towards the new threat coming from the east, but the sun was the Rohirrim's helper, blinding their adversaries in the right moment. Haldir saw with contentment how the warriors smashed into the enemy's lines, bringing the desperately needed help. He could not keep himself from noticing the fierce leader of the Rohirrim Riders who seemed to be one with his horse and who skilfully fought down the approaching Orcs. His movements were fluent, almost elegant in spite of his thick armour. It took not all too long before the defenders of the keep and the Rohirrim drove Sauron's army back and followed them on their retreat towards the forest. The Rohirrim leader kept his fellow warriors from following the Orcs to the tree line and Haldir, while sitting on his horse next to Mithrandir, found himself watching the strong movements of this warrior.

The following was a victorious return to Helm's Deep, but the enthusiastic atmosphere did not last long. The unpleasant tasks following every battle had to be taken care of and Haldir joined the other leaders and the King for a short talk about how to proceed. The leader of the Rohirrim Riders was there as well, Haldir saw him for the first time without the helmet and examined the man unobtrusively. He was beautiful in a wild kind of way, his tousled hair of various tones of blonde and framing a face as fierce as his way to fight. Despite himself, Haldir was fascinated by the Man.

Not long afterwards Haldir walked the battlefield looking for survivors. Even though the rain had stopped some time ago, the ground was still muddy and made it difficult to walk. Even without looking down Haldir knew the earth was drenched as much in water as in blood; Orc blood, Uruk-Hai blood, Human blood, Elven blood. All mixed together in the mingled grounds of Helm's Deep.

And although the sunrise had brought the desperately needed support of Gandalf and the Rohirrim Riders, it had been too late for so many of the defenders of the keep. The testimony lay to his feet now as he walked the battlefield, looking for surviving Elves and Men, killing every Orc that was still breathing. One look showed Haldir that many other warriors had searched as well, he could see Legolas and the Dwarf in some distance, in between some of his remaining Elven archers and several Rohirrim. After the agitation of battle had worn off, their composure expressed exhaustion and desperation, a clear evidence of all the dead comrades beneath their feet, the immense loss of life just settling in.

Haldir kept his gaze on the ground, walking from one body to the next, checking for any signs of life. There were so few survivors in the enormous, bloody mess of the battlefield that Haldir felt like death started to creep through the ground into his body. The battle was won, but there was no atmosphere of victory but one of hopelessness, grieve and despair. In battle, Haldir had been too focussed on fighting and surviving to pay much attention to the dead surrounding him, but now it hit him with full force. He realized how few of his archers were still standing, how many dead covered the ground. What kept him together was his sense of duty, the exemplary role he had to fulfil as the captain of the Elves.

“Here! Someone is alive!”

The shout echoed over the battlefield and caught the attention of several other searching warriors. Haldir turned to see the Rohirrim leader lift an Elven archer and hurry towards the keep where the healers were already taking care of far too many wounded. Haldir indicated his archers to go on searching and followed the Man. If even only one of his archers was found alive, then it was his duty and his pleasure to do everything necessary to make sure he survived.

The Rohirrim had a very fast pace even with the additional weight of the archer. Haldir had joined him by the time they reached the hall where the healers and everybody still standing worked to keep the survivors of the battle alive. The Rohirrim stopped for a moment to look around the hall for a place for the Elven archer and then went straight towards Aragorn who was kneeling beside a wounded Man.

“Aragorn! We found an survivor and he needs your help.” The voice of the Rohirrim left no room for discussion and when Aragorn saw the Elf he carried, he got up immediately and went towards a table that was just cleared of another injured man. Haldir watched with silent astonishment and fascination the urgency and obvious worry the Rohirrim leader held for a warrior that was not even of his kind.

“Put him down.” Even in the midst of urgency and suffering Aragorn's voice kept its calm and his movements were precise. Haldir knew his archer was in the best hands he could get outside of Lorien and that reassured him immensely. The Rohirrim set the archer carefully on the table and let Aragorn go to work. After some minutes that seemed to take forever, when Aragorn had removed the archer's armour and checked his for the expanse of his injuries, he turned the Haldir and the Man.

“Be reassured, I think he will make it. He is strong and the injuries are not as deep as they could have been.” Aragorn gave them a small nod. “Leave him to me, I will tend to him.”

“Thank Gods.” the Rohirrim breathed so silently only Haldir's Elven hearing picked it up. He turned to watch the Man and was again astonished by the honest relief on his face.

“You can be of no help here, my friends.” Aragorn had already turned back to his patient. “I will let you know about his condition later.”

Haldir understood they were politely sent away, so he turned to leave the hall and heard the Rohirrim fall into step behind him. They left the keep and Haldir felt a frisson run down his spine when he saw the remains of Helm's Deep and the battlefield stretched out under him, covered with dead and in between Men and Elves walking around and piling Orcs outside the walls and their own fallen fellow warriors inside. Haldir stopped for a moment and took a deep breath to compose himself and fight off the horror that tried to overwhelm him.

“So many dead.” He heard the silent voice of the Rohirrim leader behind him and noticed the strain in it that reminded him that the losses of the people of Rohan were even worse than the losses of the Elves. So many of the Rohirrim who had died this night had not been meant for battle, they had been too young or far too old. They had not been warriors, not experienced in battle and had had no real chance to survive.

“Rohan owes you more than we can ever repay, Master Elf.” the Man said with a voice so full of honest gratefulness that Haldir found himself surprised. “Without your archers, there would be no survivors now to mourn the dead.”

For a moment Haldir did not know what to answer. He turned towards the Rohirrim to be able to look him in the face and only found sincerity in his eyes, the understanding of a warrior who knew the same pains he had. “I am honoured to fight alongside Men again and it is important that we could make a difference. It means our dead did not die in vain.”

“I assure you, they did not.” The Rohirrim's eyes never left his and Haldir felt himself hold the steady gaze. “I do not even know your name, Master Elf.”

Haldir was slightly surprised it had not yet occurred to him that they had never been introduced as formalities had been dropped in the face of more urgent tasks. He gave a small bow and presented himself. “I am Haldir of Lorien, Warden of the Lothlorien borders and the captain of the archers.”

The Rohirrim reciprocated the bow. “I am Éomer son of Eomund, Third Marshall of the Riddermark. I am honoured to meet you, Haldir of Lorien.”

Haldir felt himself frown slightly at the sound of his name in the Man's voice, it made his back prickle, but he quickly regained his composure and schooled his features. “So am I.”

The Rohirrim watched him for a few seconds, then he turned his gaze to the working Elves and Men under the keep. “Let us get back to our task.”

He passed Haldir and started to make his way down back to the battlefield to resume searching for survivors and piling the dead. Haldir felt strongly reluctant to follow what sounded like a politely phrased order from the Man. He was not used to take orders apart from the Lady and the Lord of the Woods, and even though the Rohirrim had not directly demanded him to go back to work, it bore slight undertones Haldir did not like. He saw the need to work, though, and refrained from commenting on the Man's words when he followed him down to the lower levels of Helm's Deep.

It took hours to check the whole of the battlefield and the Hornburg for survivors. Haldir felt exhaustion crawl into his limbs and feared the strength to go through the ritual demanded for his dead Elven archers might leave him. He had never in his long life seen so many dead of his kind and he knew he should feel honoured to be the one to lead the ritual. It was the only thing he could do for them. But at this very moment when he stared upon the funeral pyres they had built he only felt empty, drained and utterly shattered.

He understood that there was death, he had lived enough battles to know it, but it was still foreign to him, something he felt no connection to, something that should not be part of his life. To see so many of his own kind taken away by it was beyond his emotional understanding, even though his head did comprehend. He briefly wondered how Men coped with the knowledge that death was a definite part of their life. It seemed cruel to him.

“Everything is ready, Captain.” One of his archers stood next to him and held a burning torch in his hand. He was deadly pale, but his voice was stripped of emotions and he waited patiently for his captain to begin the ritual. The remaining archers had formed a circle around the pyres and Haldir was able to feel the strong emotional strain that radiated off his Elves and seemed to fill the air. Most of them had never been part of this ritual, but Haldir had already performed it, even if at a much smaller scale.

Haldir squared his shoulders and reached for the torch. He nodded to the archer holding it, then he proceeded slowly to the first pyre and stopped in front of it. He took a deep breath and sang the first note of the lament they all knew by heart. He heard a second voice join him and lightened the pyre, then he slowly, singing from deep in his heart, walked over to the next pyre. Another voice joined them when he set the second pyre on fire, then another voice and another. Haldir let all his sorrow flow into his singing, taking comfort in the old words and the power of their combined voices. He proceeded from one pyre to the next, feeling tears run over his face and not caring at all. He slowly lost himself in the ritual, sinking deeper in the merging of grief and comfort.

***

Éomer was about to throw another Orc carcass on the pile they had built outside the walls when the first tones of a song of incredible sorrow reached his ears. He stopped in the middle of his motion and concentrated on his hearing, realising that the sound came from within the walls. Resolutely he threw the dead creature onto the pile and followed the other men who had already started to walk towards the keep, attracted by the sad lament. He reached the remains of the wall and climbed over it, then made his way up on the inner wall. When he arrived at the top, he could see burning pyres in the yard and the Elven archers standing around them in a circle, singing the lament that sent goose-bumps all over his skin.

Éomer remained standing where he was, caught up in the deep sadness that the Elves sent off in their song and their composure. Without looking, he realised Aragorn joined him on the wall and they watched the Elven archers standing around the pyres and listened to their voices. The Elven captain had lightened all pyres and by now the archers seemed to sing in one strong voice.

“This is beautiful. Still, I feel like my heart is breaking.” Éomer whispered. Every loud noise seemed so utterly wrong that his voice was scarcely audible. He felt his gaze drawn to the Elven captain again and he saw tears freely running over the beautiful face. Many other Elves were silently crying as well while singing in honour to their fallen comrades.

“Elves are not meant to die.” Aragorn explained equally quiet with a voice that was grave with sorrow. “They know death, but it is a concept foreign to them. They are supposed to live forever and at some point sail for the Undying Lands. To see so many of their kind dead is barely endurable for them.”

Éomer nodded silently. “It is not right so many died in battle. But I am infinitely grateful they came to our help.”

Aragorn turned his head slightly to look at the other man and found him watching the Elves with incredible sad eyes that bespoke the honesty of his words. His eyes seemed to be fixed on Haldir who stood a step in front of his archers and appeared to be lost in a grievous trance while singing. Aragorn turned back to watch the ritual and remained silent. Now was the time for the Elves to grieve. Men would do so later, when they were safe enough to let go of their guard.

***

It was early evening when Haldir saw a Rohirrim approach him.

“My King asked you to join the council held in the hall in the keep, Master Elf.” the middle aged Man said with an awestruck voice and kept respectful distance.

“Thank you for letting me know.” Haldir nodded and got up from the ground where he had been tending to the wounds of a boy too young to be injured in battle. After the ritual, Haldir had joined the healers, because like all Elves he possessed healing powers, even though his were very limited. Furthermore, he had felt the urge to be with the living and not with the dead. If he could save only one life here, it was worth every effort.

Haldir stretched his limbs, then talked to the healer he had been working under and let her know he was to leave but would return. The old woman gave him a real smile and thanked him for his help, she did not appear the least intimidated by the Elf. “You already did much more for my people then we could have hoped for, Master Elf. You should rest yourself, for I am certain you will be needed in future.”

Haldir gave a small nod. “It was my honour.”

“You are a good man, Master Elf. Go now to the King, we will take care of the wounded.” She smiled and dismissed him with a friendly nod. Haldir wondered for a moment why he let himself be told by her what to do, but he could only feel motherly goodwill in her and it somehow warmed him after so much cold death.

He made his way to the hall and entered, finding King Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas, the Marshals of the Mark, Gandalf and and the Dwarf already assembled. Next to the Aragorn stood a pale but beautiful woman with long blonde hair who watched them carefully. Haldir walked over to stand between Legolas and the Third Marshal, Éomer, and remembered that he had seen her work with the healer this afternoon. All participants seemed to have arrived, for another marshal closed the doors of the hall and King Theoden greeted them.

“Thank you for joining me. We need to decide how to go on from here.” the King said while he slowly paced up and down the hall. “There are many wounded to be taken care of and many dead who need to be buried. Not to forget the dead Orcs that have to be burned.”

“Every woman and every child old enough to help works with the healers and takes care of the injured. I just came from there.” Aragorn remarked and held his gaze on the pacing king.

“And every man still standing piles the dead in- and outside of the walls.” Éomer added. “We have already started to burn the Orcs and to arrange for the burials of our fallen.”

“Good, very good.” The king stopped for a moment and seemed to think. “We will stay here until tomorrow, then our people have to be ready to leave for Edoras.”

“There is something else to be clarified.” Gandalf remarked and let his eyes roam over the present men. “Saruman will be cast out of the Order of the Wizards, and it is my task to do so. Furthermore, we need to assure there is no more danger from him.”

King Theoden nodded. “I agree. Saruman needs to be confronted for what he did to us.”

“We will ride to Isengard then.” Gandalf declared.

“We shall ride in the morning.” King Theoden decided and then turned to the captain of the Elven archers. “What have you decided to do, Master Elf?”

When Haldir stepped forward, he could feel the eyes of the Third Marshal on him. “My archers and me will join Men as long as needed to defend Middle Earth. I think that the true dimensions of this war are still to be discovered and every weapon will be badly needed then.”

He looked around and saw Aragorn nod approvingly. “This is not a war of Men any more. It concerns the whole of Middle Earth and we will contribute to the defence of our home.”

King Theoden came over to Haldir and grasped his shoulder. “It is good to know you with us.”

“Our bows and our swords will go wherever they are needed.” Haldir said and gave a little bow. When he stepped back regain his place between Legolas and the Third Marshal, he noticed out of the corner of the eye that the Man was looking at him, a little smile ghosting around his lips.

“We will leave at sunrise.” Gandalf decided and watched his fellows. “Everybody should try to rest as much as possible. The ride will be hard and fast, and the meeting demanding. We all need to be well rested.”

“We will ride directly to Edoras after we are finished at Isengard. It will be incumbent on you, Éowyn, to rule in my place in my absence.” King Theoden focussed his gaze on the blonde woman. “Tomorrow morning, you will lead our people back to Edoras. I will leave all good men with you to protect your journey.”

The woman nodded, her expression serious but without fear. “Yes, uncle. Do not worry, I will take care of our people.”

“I know them in good and capable hands with you.” Theoden gave her a sincere and caring smile. “I do not worry.”

Haldir watched the scene with interest. The woman reminded him of somebody, even though he could not pinpoint of whom. She must be the niece of the king, judging by her way to address him. Instinct told the Elf that there was more to her than what met the eye and he decided to watch her development.

The King dissolved the council and Haldir saw the Third Marshal walk over to the woman and talk to her. Haldir could not help his fine hearing to pick up their words.

“Are you all right? I have seen you work all day.” The Rohirrim's voice sounded a little bit worried.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “I am fine, brother. It is not me who lies on one of these sick beds. The least I can do for our people is to see that as many of them survive as possible.”

Then she made a gesture that included the appearance of the warrior. “But look at yourself. You have not been working any less than I have, and you rode the whole night and fought the whole morning. I think, my dear brother, you need a good night's sleep to restore your energies. And a decent bath to get rid of the smell.”

The Man laughed and Haldir felt his skin prickle at the sound. “Charming as always, Éowyn. But I think you are right and I will follow your advice.”

She smiled for real this time and Haldir noticed the strong resemblance to her brother. That was whom she had reminded him of. Seeing them stand next to each other he realised they had the same fierce and strong expression in their eyes, the same honest smile and upright posture. Haldir had the distinct impression that they were good for Rohan. He turned to leave the hall following Legolas and the Dwarf, when he heard steps behind him.

“Master Elf.” Haldir turned towards the voice, so did Legolas and the Dwarf. The Marshal came towards them and gave a lopsided grin. “My sister reminded me of the hospitality we ought to show to you and I would like to offer to show to you and your companions our bathing facilities. We have a running water system due to a hot spring in the mountains behind the keep and I am certain you would welcome to cleanse yourselves from blood and filth.”

Legolas gave a smile that spoke of relief and true joy. Haldir could not help himself to share those emotions. He longed to wash off the smell and the feeling of battle. Legolas beat him with an answer. “That would be most welcome, Master Éomer. I think Aragorn would like to join us as well.”

“I will let him know where we are.” Éomer offered and guided the group through the keep to a little separate house that had several tubs, large enough for four grown Men, that were served with the hot water from the spring. On the way he stopped a man who looked like a Rohirrim Rider and asked him to find Aragorn and bring him to the bath house. Inside, the Third Marshal talked shortly to two servants who then opened the pipes to fill two tubs and went to provide soap and cloth as towels.

Haldir looked around the bath house and liked what he saw. He looked forward to a decent bath, he knew it would make him feel better, even if it could not sooth his pain and grief. Next to him, he could see Legolas examine the facilities as well and with a little smile the other Elf said: “It is a truly wonderful bath house you have here, Master Éomer.”

The Man reciprocated the smile and nodded slightly to show his thanks. “I hope it will do us all some good before we have to ride tomorrow. Gandalf insisted we rest and regain our energies and I think this is a good way to achieve that.”

“Very true.” said a voice from the entry and Aragorn joined them in the little house that slowly filled with steam from the hot water. “I am thankful that you invited me to enjoy you.”

“Let us bath then.” the Dwarf said with less enthusiasm than the others and started to remove his blood stained armour. Haldir gave him a short glance. Who would have thought that he would once share a bath with a Dwarf and several Men. All of their lives had changed considerably in the past few weeks and normal boundaries seemed to cease to exist.

“What are you waiting for? If I take a bath, I want it hot.” the Dwarf asked the men standing around him who had not yet started to move. A smirk ghosted over Aragorn's face, proof that he was amused, and he began to open his tunic. The Rohirrim followed his example, Haldir and Legolas exchanged a short glance and then started to remove their filthy clothing. The Dwarf was finished first and made his way to the first tub and literally jumped in. Haldir heard Aragon and the Rohirrim chuckle and saw that even Legolas had a barely suppressed grin on the lips. Yes, things had indeed changed a lot in recent times.

Legolas and Aragorn joined the Dwarf in the first tub and Haldir decided to go to the Rohirrim who was just about to step into the second tub. Haldir could not help his gaze wandering over the Man, from the broad shoulders and the narrow hips to the long legs. Men were so different from Elves, he realised again. They had hair all over their body where Elves had non, they were distinctively broader in build and so many had an air of wild, untamed passion about them that Haldir had always guessed came from their mortality. It made their lives more intense and their spirit more fierce, the knowledge that it could end at any point.

Haldir watched the Man's hair with fascination. It was so different from Elven hair, not smooth, straight and elegant, but wild, untamed and curly with so many changing colours in it that it seemed to represent its owner with his diverse facets. The Elf went over to the tub and tried not to let his thoughts show when he let himself sink into the pleasantly hot water. He retained a moan of pleasure for he felt more alive with every second in the water. When he opened his eyes, he found the Man's gaze fixed on him and heard a chuckle.

“My sister was right then.” the Rohirrim remarked. “She was certain that a decent bath could revive your spirit.”

Haldir fought his slight annoyance at the Man's amusement. “Your sister is a wise woman, then.”

“So she is.” the warrior's smile showed how fond he was of her. “When she wants to be, at least.”

“She is a good host, though.” Haldir tried to be friendly and not let show how the Man irritated him. “This bath was indeed a very generous offer.”

He started to open the braids that pulled his hair back and began to wet it when all braids were undone. He hated how the filth and blood let the strands stick together. Taking the soap, he washed the long locks thoroughly before he rinsed the dirt out. It was not till then that he realised that the Rohirrim was watching him with that amused smile on his lips. “What do you find so interesting, Horselord?”

“Elves really like to bath, do they not?” the Man remarked. “Master Legolas does not seem any less devoted to washing than you are.”

Haldir felt the irritating prickle on his skin again and gave the Man his most arrogant gaze. He was aware he chose his words in order to provoke the Rohirrim. “We like to be clean, Man.”

“And your implication is that Men are not?”

Haldir looked at him and felt a faint satisfaction at the slight tension that had entered the Man's voice. It challenged him to find out how far he could push the Rohirrim. “Judged by the smell, no.”

Before the Man could reply, they were interrupted by one of the servants who brought in a staple of clean clothing and set it on one of the benches, before he took the dirty garment with him for washing. The Rohirrim retained his probably angry reply, ducked his head in the water instead and rinsed out the soap. Haldir pretended to ignore him, but watched him out of the corner of his eyes.

When the servant turned to leave, Haldir saw Aragorn coming over and he suspected by the looks of it that the Ranger had listened to them and tried to forestall a resumption of the conversation. “May I join you?”

“Certainly.” The Rohirrim made an inviting gesture with his hand and moved further away from Haldir as if to give Aragorn the space to settle between them and function as a barrier. The other Man seemed to pick up on the offer and followed it, sinking in the water between the Rohirrim and the Elf.

“Do you feel relaxed yet?” He asked and looked equally at Haldir and the Rohirrim.

Haldir decided there was no point in focussing on a confrontation with his host and accepted Aragorn's offer to settle the situation. “It is very relaxing indeed.”

The Rohirrim just nodded and went on washing his arms. The set of his jaw let Haldir know that their dispute was postponed not abandoned. Somehow, Haldir felt himself looking forward to it.

After some time, Aragorn tied the other Man and the Elf into a conversation on the next day's mission and Haldir was surprised to find the Rohirrim quite lively in discussion, bringing interesting and well reflected arguments. He had never thought the Man to be stupid, but he was obviously far more educated and intelligent than Haldir had expected. The Elf felt his estimation of the Man rise. They only stopped talking when the water in the tub grew unpleasantly cold and ended the leisurely evening.

When Haldir left the water, Legolas and the Dwarf had already dried and put on the clean clothing the servant had brought. Aragorn wore trousers that seemed a little bit to big for him and dried his hair with a cloth. The Rohirrim had a towel wrapped around his hips and just put on a shirt. Haldir gave him a short glance, the Man fascinated and irritated him all at the same time. It was not like him to be so impolite and to provoke on purpose the person who was his host, but the Man had made him do so. Haldir was well aware that his words about Men had been an offence, but he was not willing to apologise just yet.

***

Éomer pulled the simple shirt the servant had brought over his head. The Elven captain stood next to Aragorn, obviously not caring about his nudity at all, and took a cloth to dry his hair so it would not wet the clean tunic he had been given. Éomer found himself watching the Elf again, like he had already done so many times during the day. It annoyed him that he could not keep his gaze from wandering over to the Elf once he was within eyeshot. He was not sure if he was more curious or irritated by the archer, but after their unpleasant confrontation in the tub he tended towards irritated.

Éomer put on the loose trousers and tried to banish the Elf from his thoughts. There was no reason to give him any more attention than the other warriors. True, he had been essential to the course of the battle, because it was thanks to his archers that the defence of Helm's Deep had held long enough for Éomer and his Rohirrim to arrive. But Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli had not participated any less in the defence of the keep and Éomer did not feel any of this strange heightened attention towards them. It could not be his curiosity for Elves either, because that would not explain why Legolas or the other Elven archers did not interest him any more than was normal. He felt himself frown, lost in his train of thought and even more irritated than he had been before he had started to think about it.

“I had our guest quarters prepared for you.” he said when everybody was dressed and they started to make their way out of the bathhouse. It was better to concentrate on something useful than on his confused thoughts on the Elven captain. “I will guide you there. We will leave tomorrow at dawn.”

It did not take them very long to arrive at the door that gave way to two small connected rooms with two beds. On one of them lay Gandalf's robe, on the floor next to the other one were their packs and weapons, in the fireplace a bright warming fire was burning.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Master Éomer.” Legolas said with a graceful little bow of his head.

Éomer grinned. “Oh, you should thank my sister instead of me. It was her doing.”

“We will.” Aragorn replied and turned into the room, letting his gaze travel through it.

“I will see you in the morn at the stables, then. Rest well, my friends.” One short glance at the Elf showed Éomer that the archer had been watching him. The Man turned and disappeared in the corridor. He felt exhausted, the hard ride, the battle and the long hours of working to put Helm's Deep back in order took their toll. Not to forget the grief for his lost friends and the many dead of the battle that he had tried to ignore up till now. When he arrived at the room Éowyn had had prepared for him, he felt so tired that he only took off his boots and let himself fall onto the bed. Minutes later he was asleep, to exhausted to even have dreams.

Before the sun rose, Éomer was up and got ready to leave. He put on his armour and his weapons and left for the stables. He greeted Firefoot, fed him an apple he had taken from breakfast and started to saddle him, some stable-lads joined him at his order and prepared the other horses that were meant for today's ride. Éomer led Firefoot in the courtyard and went back into the stable.

He knew from his uncle that the Elven archers had arrived on foot what meant that their captain did not have a horse, even though he was to ride with them to Isengard today. Éomer stood in front of the boxes for a moment and thought about which horse would be the most appropriate for the Elf. It did not take him very long and he stepped to a box at the end of the aisle where a shiny white stallion stood. He greeted it with a caress to its nostrils and mumbled meaningless tender words while he opened the box and led it out to prepare it for the ride. Merod was stubborn and fierce, but at the same time intelligent and very well trained. A perfect fit for the proud Elf, Éomer thought amused.

When he led Merod into the courtyard, he saw his fellow warriors and his uncle had arrived and were readying their horses for departure. The Elven captain stood next to Legolas, talking to him quietly but fast in their common tongue.

Éomer approached the Elf, guiding the elegant white stallion by the reins. “It seems you do not have a horse, Master Elf. Therefore I chose one for you.”

Haldir looked up and came to stand next to the horse. He approached it slowly, let it take a first account of him and gently stroke its shiny pelt. “It is a magnificent horse.”

“His name is Merod. He has his head, but I think that goes well with you.” the Rohirrim remarked with a small smile. “I am certain you will get along with him.”

The Elf looked up, an eyebrow raised, and let out a chuckle. “I will take that as a compliment, Horselord.”

“That is up to you, Master Elf.” Éomer answered casually, but he felt a smirk ghost over his lips. So the Elf could be nice if he wanted to be, the Man realised while he mounted Firefoot.

When the sun just began to rise, the small group left Helm's Deep. The ride to Isengard was passed in silence. Despite the relaxing bath and a good night's sleep the exhaustion of battle and death had not worn off yet and nobody felt like talking. The pace was hard and Haldir learned the true value of the Rohan horses. They were fast and arduous, secure in their step and extremely well trained. Éomer watched the Elf from time to time and realised he was a very skilled rider. And that he had been right with his choice of a horse, because it became obvious with the time that the Elven archer and Merod got along very well. Somehow that made him proud.

They made a short stop around midday to eat some of their provisions and rode on afterwards. Even though he had been tired in the morning, the ride gave Éomer the feeling of freedom and energy he always got when he was on horseback. The wind and the sun on his face made him smile and lifted his spirits. He enjoyed the ride, it freed him from thoughts about death and despair, and he forgot for a short while about the task that lay ahead of them. He knew the war for Middle Earth was far from over, but right now, while riding over the wide planes of Rohan, it did not matter.

When the small group arrived at Isengard, they were greeted by the two Hobbits Merry and Pippin and Éomer understood by the reactions of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli that they must be the fellows they had been looking for when he had met the three warriors the first time. He felt happy for them and took hope in the fact that there still seemed to be happy events in times of despair. One of the halflings was sat behind Éomer on Firefoot and they continued their way towards the tower. With every step he felt the tension rise within himself, for he hated Saruman with all his heart for bringing all this suffering and death over the people of Rohan.

His uncle seemed to share his feelings. The confrontation with Saruman was not very nice and the sight of Grima made Éomer furious, but he retained himself and kept silent. He could not help to feel satisfaction, though, when Legolas's arrow buried itself in Grima's chest and the evil wizard fell from the tower to be impaled on his own machinery. He did not feel sorry for them at all, only grim satisfaction that gave him a slight measure of peace, even though he still thought death was not enough punishment for their crimes. It was too easy for the pain and the death they had inflicted on his people.

When they finally left Isengard to ride to Edoras, Éomer felt relieved to leave that place behind. In his mind it was the allegory for the suffering of his people and he wanted to close off the chapter of the threat of Isengard. He was only too happy to get out in the planes again to get rid of this undefined feeling of unease that he had had the whole time they had been on the grounds of Isengard. The hobbit sitting behind him, Pippin by name he had found out, seemed to feel the same way.

The group passed Helm's Deep and rode until shortly before sunset, then they set camp in the plane. Éowyn had been supposed to leave Helm's Deep this morning to lead their people back to the safety of Edoras, she had probably already reached the city. Éomer hoped she was all right, he knew it was hard for her to see her people suffer and not be allowed to join the forces who defended them. He had trained with her, he was well aware of her extraordinary skill with weapons and knew how much she hated to stay behind when the men rode to battle. Even though he was relieved to know her in safety when he was fighting, he could comprehend her frustration and anger at having to stay behind. He knew it would kill him if had he to do so.

Aragorn started a fire and the two Hobbits eagerly began to prepare food, not letting anybody help or come close to the provisions until they were done. Éomer joined the other warriors and spread the bedrolls around the fire so everybody would profit from the little heat it radiated. The Elven captain had placed his bedroll between him and Legolas, Éomer noticed with curiosity and looked for the archer. He sat with Legolas and Aragorn and looked out into the night sky over the plane and they talked quietly in the Elven tongue.

“Do you feel the same unease I feel, Éomer? Like we are on the verge of some large changes?” His uncle joined him at the fire and sat down next to him.

Éomer looked up. “Yes, I feel it as well. And the death of the evil wizard has not lessened this feeling.”

Theoden nodded. “The war is not over yet.”

“I think it has just begun.” Gandalf came to them and settled next to them. “Haldir was right. The true dimensions of this war are not yet known.”

At the sound of the Elf's name, Éomer could not help his gaze to wander over to where he sat with Legolas and Aragorn. “We are lucky to have the Elven archers on our side.”

“That is true. There might only few of them be left, but their skill and experience is very valuable in battle.” Gandalf remarked and began to fill his pipe.

“Indeed.” Theoden agreed and stared in the flames.

“Dinner is ready!” Pippin shouted and happily looked around into the faces of the rest of the group. “We had to improvise, but it will be good.”

“It is, I tried it.” the other Hobbit, Merry, added and let the wooden spoon sway from one side to the other. Éomer liked the two halflings, they were good natured and radiated good mood. They seemed to have such a positive way of looking at life that it surprised him and they always seemed to see the good in the small things. Like food, for example.

“Then let us taste it was well, Hobbit!” Gimli the Dwarf suggested and held out his bowl for food. Merry complied contently and filled it, than took the other bowls and filled them one after the other. They all settled around the fire and ate, the Hobbits chatting with the Dwarf and most of the others just listening to them. Éomer simply enjoyed being out in the wide planes, breathing the fresh air and eating a surprisingly good dinner. Shortly after they had finished eating they lay down on their bedrolls and went to sleep, for the next day would be long.

***

Haldir woke before the sun had risen and heard Legolas getting up next to him. He sat up on his bedroll and shed his cloak that he had used as cover during the night. His vision quickly adapted to the dim light of dawn and he found himself looking to the Man lying next to him. Éomer of Rohan was still asleep, eyes closed and his expression so peaceful that it let the Man appear much younger than when he was awake. The Elf openly watched him for the few moments he had before the Rohirrim would wake up and Haldir had to restrain his interest for this particular Man. He was old and wise enough to not lie to himself about his fascination for the Man, but that did not mean that he intended to let anybody else know about it.

The noise of the other members of the group waking up made Haldir stop his inspection of the Rohirrim and he got up to join Legolas who was about to restart the fire. They ate a small breakfast before they broke camp and mounted their horses to resume the way to Edoras. Since they had three horses in their group carrying two riders, they set a moderate pace. There was no urgency to get to Edoras as fast as possible, so they did not spend most of the journey in gallop and the Hobbits started chatting from one horseback over to the other.

“They are a nice lot.” Haldir heard the Third Marshal remark. The Man had fallen into pace next to him, watching the Hobbits who were sitting behind Gandalf and Aragorn riding some metres in front of them.

“Indeed, they are.” Haldir agreed. He liked the Hobbits even though they were very different from Elvish ways. “Have you ever met halflings before, Horselord?”

“No. I thought them to be part of the old legends, not reality.” He chuckled. “At least when I ever tell one of these legends, I know they have a true core.”

“Many legends have.” Haldir remarked.

“This may be so, Master Elf.” The warrior rode next to him, in complete harmony with his horse. He seemed to be born to ride, it was a treat Haldir had by now seen in many Rohirrim. “Compared to you, though, I am too young to know that for sure.”

“I have a name.” Haldir said sharper than he had wanted, he felt the inexplicable urge to have the Man call him by his name. “Call me Haldir.”

The Man had turned his head towards him and watched him with an indefinable gaze. “I was not sure if I was allowed to use it.”

Haldir hold his gaze firmly. “You are.”

“Haldir.” He seemed to try the feeling of the name on his tongue. A small smile played around the Man's lips. “Call me Éomer, then.”

Haldir nodded in agreement, but resisted the absurd urge to speak the Man's name to see what it felt like to say it. “Were Elves legend for you as well?”

“No. We had the occasional Elvish visitor to our halls when the times were still peaceful.” The Man seemed to be lost in memories for a moment. “But that was a long time ago.”

“By your standards.” Haldir added, knowing he again provoked the Man and continued with a question to take the sting out of his remark. “How many years ago was that?”

“About a decade.” For a moment Haldir thought the Man did not plan on falling for his provocation, until he heard him add, “Which must seem like an instant to you.”

“Elves only value time differently than Men, we do not have a different sense of time.” he explained and was aware of the patronising tone in his voice. “It is true, though, that a decade is not a long time in our opinion, because it is measured by eternity.”

“It is long for me, as it is nearly a third of my lifespan so far.” A slightly irritated tone crept into the Man's voice and when Haldir turned to look him in the face he could see how his brows furrowed.

“That is extremely young for Elven standards.” Haldir could not help pointing out, deliberately adding fuel to the fire. “Still a child.”

“It is old enough to have reached the title of the Third Marshal of the Riddermark by human standards.” The Man's voice had an edge to it that let Haldir know he had hit a sore spot and another glance into his eyes showed barely restrained temper. “There cannot only be Elves in Middle Earth, Master Elf.”

“Oh, I would never want that to be the case.” With slight amusement Haldir noticed the Man had gone back to the formal address. “That would be entirely too boring. It is variation that makes life interesting.”

The Rohirrim remained silent for several minutes and Haldir wondered for a moment if he had gone to far with his provocations. “You came very late to defend this variation, though.”

Haldir felt like the Man had hit him in the face. He took a sharp breath and gave him a cold glare. He felt his body grow cold with anger and then he let Merod take up pace to leave the Rohirrim's side. He would not say anything to such despiteful words. He knew he had provoked the Man and that it was partly his own fault the Rohirrim had lashed out, but the other warrior had hit a sore spot. What he had said was not completely wrong and Haldir was aware of that.

Still, the comment had been a cruel blow.

***

Éomer watched how the Elf's eyes grew cold and knew he had gone to far. He had wanted to get back at him for all those small comments aimed at Men, but when the Elf rode off without a word he realised he must have made him really furious. Éomer felt ashamed with himself and decided he would have to apologise to the Elf later.

The position of the sun indicated it was shortly before midday when they finally came into sight of Rohan's capital. The Elven captain had ridden next to Gandalf for the rest of the journey and had swiftly ignored Éomer. The Rohirrim had not felt a particular urge to talk to anybody and had taken the lead of the group, silently lost in thoughts.

“There we are.” the Éomer said to nobody in particular and nodded towards city that covered the small mountain at the end of the plane in front of them. “Edoras.”

The group made their way over the plane towards the city and rode through the gates. While riding up to the stables next to Meduseld, Éomer carefully inspected the city. It felt good to be back and see that his home was unharmed, even though he noticed the reduced number of his people. On the terrace of the Great Hall stood Éowyn and waited for them, pale, beautiful and fierce as always. Éomer was relieved to see she was all right and the travel from Helm's Deep had been smooth.

The rest of the day passed fast, everybody was busy with either preparations for the feast in memory of the dead that would be held in the evening, or in taking care of the wounded. Éomer joined the preparations, he knew the tradition of a celebration for the dead was important for his people to keep them from falling into despair and to let them see hope. They would need all strength they had to go on.

When the night fell, the people of Edoras gathered in Meduseld. Éomer took his place behind his uncle and let his gaze wander through the hall. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the Elven captain sat at the first table next to the Second Marshal of the Mark and Háma, the captain of the King's gurad. The Elven archers were at one side behind their captain, the Rohirrim Riders had taken the other side. The people of the city filled the rest of the Golden Hall.

There was an expectant silence when Éowyn approached their uncle, bowed and offered him the ceremonial goblet filled with red wine. Éomer watched her smile and pass their uncle to stand behind him on the other side before his gaze went back to the crowd.

“Hail the victorious dead!” Theoden said with his strong voice and lifted his goblet. All present in Meduseld rose and followed his example and drank to the glory of the dead of Helm's Deep. Éomer swallowed a mouthful of the sweet wine, his gaze locked with the Elven captain. He needed to apologise, he remembered.

Once the formal part of the feast was over, the people in the hall mixed up and started talking, eating and drinking. Éomer walked over to the table where Háma and some of his riders sat and joined them. After a while, the Dwarf dragged the Legolas over to them and challenged him to a drinking contest. At first, Éomer thought the Elf was insane to agree to it, but once they had started, he revised his estimation.

With fascination Éomer watched the Dwarf and the Elf drinking pint after pint. He readily supplied another when Gimli had finished his and could not help his curiosity as to who would be the last standing. The Dwarf was a hard drinker, he had realised that by now, but the Elf was not bad either and seemed not really affected by the alcohol he had already consumed. Éomer was surprised, though, when the Dwarf fell backwards, obviously passed out from drinking, and Legolas just gave a small smirk and said, “Game over.”

He would not have expected the Elf to win. It was good to know that the alcohol of Men apparently did not have any effect on Elves, he mused while sipping his own ale. He let his gaze wander through the hall. Men and women as well as Elves were feasting and celebrating in memory of their dead and laughter and talking filled the room with a constant hum. He could not see the Elven captain anywhere, though, and he still felt he had to apologise for the morning.

Éomer pushed himself off the barrel he had been leaning against and started his way through the hall, looking for the Elf. When he did not find him, he went outside and checked the terrace and the surrounding balconies, but could not see him either. Determined to find the Elven captain and say his excuses, he continued searching.

***

“Aragorn.”

Aragorn turned to the sound of his name and saw Éomer coming towards him. “What can I do for you, Éomer?”

The other man stopped next to him in the corridor, a quizzical expression on his face. “Have you seen Haldir?”

Aragorn could not help one of his brow rising in surprise. “Last time I saw him he was in the Golden Hall talking to your King, but that was some hours ago.”

Then his curiosity made him state: “I see you are on first name basis.”

The Rohirrim nodded. “He offered me on today's ride to Edoras.”

“Is that so.” That was interesting. Aragorn had known the Lorien archer to be very reserved and was aware of the fact that this character trait made him appear arrogant to those who did not know him well. To offer a Man his first name after only a few days seemed very unusual for the Elf.

“What wonders you?” The Rohirrim had good instincts and he obviously picked up Aragorn's surprise.

“It was a rare offer he made to you.” the Ranger stated. He felt that making the Rohirrim aware of the gift he had been granted would not do harm. “Haldir must esteem you quite highly.”

Éomer seemed to be at loss for words and gave Aragorn a confused glance. “I do not know. He did not say anything of this sort.”

Aragorn laughed gently. “I assume in spite of it being only a the few days that you know him you are well aware that he is not likely to say such a thing aloud.”

“I dare to say it would be very unlike him.” The other man smirked slightly. “I will go on looking for him then.”

Aragorn nodded and watched the Rohirrim disappear with a determined stride into the corridor on his left. He was still surprised at Haldir's obvious willingness to befriend the Man. He had noticed the subliminal affinity the Elf and the Rohirrim seemed to have had right from the beginning, but he had not given it any further thought. Now, though, he felt intrigued. His instincts told him that these two very headstrong men, both used to command and to be obeyed, were bound to get into conflicts.

Aragorn remembered the bathhouse at Helm's Deep where he had deliberately intervened to prevent the confrontation. Maybe next time, he would just let it happen. He was confident that they were very well able to sort themselves out on their own. And they would clash, sooner or later.

***

Éomer had searched most of Meduseld and its immediate surroundings when he saw the lonely figure on the bench in the little garden behind the Golden Hall. It was not difficult to recognise the Elven captain, his long, nearly white hair was very distinctive in the soft moonlight that flooded the garden. For a moment, Éomer remained on the top of the stairs, hidden in the shadow of the hall's overhanging roof, just watching the peaceful scene in front of him.

“You might as well join me, Horselord.” he heard the Elf's voice say quietly.

Éomer wondered how the Elf knew he was there, but nonetheless he left the shadow, slowly went down the five steps into the garden and walked towards the bench. He hesitated a moment, then settled besides the Elf and cleared his throat. “How did you know I was there?”

The Elven captain did not look at him but continued to let his gaze wander over the wide planes. “Elven hearing is very sharp. I could hear you before you even came around the corner.”

“Oh.” Éomer was astonished. He had never thought about the more subtle differences their races involved. He was silent for some minutes, lost in his own thoughts, before he turned his head to look at the Elf. “I want to apologise for my comment during today's ride. It was incorrect and out of line.”

It had taken Éomer a lot to actually speak these words aloud, but he felt like he owed the Elven captain an apology for his low blow. He knew that the Elves did not have to come for Men's help at all, most of them were leaving Middle Earth anyway. And he had understood during the funeral ritual at Helm's Deep that death was an even more cruel thing for Elves than it was for Men, and the Elven archers had had great losses in a battle that had not even been theirs.

For a moment, the Elf did not react in any way and Éomer began to feel awkward. But then the captain turned his head and caught Éomer's gaze. His eyes were shadowed, but sincere. “You were not completely wrong, though. We should have joined the defence of Middle Earth much earlier.”

The reply caught Éomer by surprise. He had not been sure what kind of reaction he would get to his apology, but he had certainly not expected the Elf to agree with him. Somehow that made him much more approachable and showed a certain dignity Éomer could only admire.

“Life in the woods is very remote. It is easy to ignore the problems of the world around us as long as they do not stand at our borders.” the Elf went on, gaze still focussed on the Man.

Éomer found himself at loss for words. He would never have thought the Elf to be so open towards him. It took him a few moments before he was able to answer. “I had no right to accuse you of not helping, though. I am not certain how Rohan would have acted were it us in your position. Probably it would have been a very similar course of action. It is never an easy decision to join a war that does not seem to immediately affect you.”

Éomer thought he read respect rise in the Elf's eyes while he spoke. “And it still remains that you came to our help when we most needed it. It is thanks to you that the battle of Helm's Deep was not lost.”

The Elven captain still held his gaze and respectfully bowed his head a little bit. “I thank you for your sincere words. It helps us very much to know that our warriors did not die in vain and that their effort is appreciated.”

“It is. Believe me, it is.” Éomer looked the Elf straight in the eyes to prove his sincerity. “My people know how close we came to loosing the battle at Helm's Deep. One bow less might have made the difference. They celebrate with your warriors tonight because they grieve for your dead as much as for ours and it is our way of showing that.”

“And it is highly appreciated by my Elves. Despite the language barrier several of them already told me that they enjoyed the celebrations and felt included by your people.” The captain said quietly. “They were kindly welcomed by your people when they travelled with them from Helm's Deep to Edoras, I was told.”

“I hope you were welcomed appropriately as well when we arrived.” Éomer asked, worried for a moment because he had not paid attention to the Elf after they had entered the city. Their quarrel had kept him from looking for him and he had not seen him until the ceremony for the dead.

“Oh yes. Your sister was so kind to let me use the bathing facilities.” The Elf gave him a little smile. “And as you already stated: Elves like to bath.”

“So I have realised. Although our facilities here are not as good as in Helm's Deep, I hope they were to your satisfaction.” Éomer was surprised to find that he regretted that he had not shared the bath with the Elf and had missed the opportunity to have another look at the beauty of the captain. It felt weird to call a male beautiful, but it was the only suitable word. Ethereal beauty, despite of the definitely male shape of the body, the muscled shoulders, the strong arms and the narrow hips not leaving any doubt about him being a man.

“Éomer?” The Elf's voice reached his ears and broke through the musing. The Man realised he had been lost in thoughts – and what kind of thoughts! – and to his horror he felt himself blush, something that had not happened to him in years. Hearing his name from the Elf for the first time did not help his composure either.

“I am sorry, I was lost in thoughts.” he tried to excuse his inattention.

“So I realised.” The Elf chuckled. “They must have been very engaging thoughts.”

“You could say so.” Éomer felt his blush deepen. What else was he supposed to say to that? He would certainly not let the Elf know that it had been him who the thoughts had centred around.

“Let us go back inside.” Éomer suggested, rising slowly from the bench to not give the impression that he was fleeing. “As leaders, we cannot leave our warriors to celebrate alone.”

“That is right.” The Elf looked to the moon. “We have been absent for quite a while by now. We should rejoin them.”

The Elven captain rose as well and they silently made their way back to the Golden Hall. Éomer was still shocked and confused at his inappropriate thoughts about the Elf. He had realised he was fascinated by him, but the direction his fascination had taken was not acceptable. He respected the Elf for his skills as a warrior and for his strong mind, but he should definitely not think of him in terms like beautiful or intriguing.

Éomer knew the taste of male flesh, he was no innocent. Spending most of his life with his fellow warriors had of course led to the experience, it was quite common within the Riders. Even though nobody talked about it aloud, it was well known which Riders were shield mates. But for Éomer it had only been about mutual satisfaction or comfort, he had never thought about any man as beautiful or fascinating. Those feelings were reserved for the ladies and he had never questioned this distinction before.

Éomer was almost relieved when they entered the hustle and bustle of the hall, it helped him to push aside the disturbing thoughts. He looked around the hall and saw Aragorn and Legolas at a table, talking and drinking slowly . He indicated them to the Elven captain and they made their way over to the table and joined Legolas and the Ranger who was quietly smoking his pipe.

“Be welcome to sit with us, my friends.” Aragorn offered with a gesture of his hand to the bench on the opposite site of him and Legolas.

***

Aragorn saw Legolas sitting at a table and walked over to him. “I heard you won against Gimli in a drinking contest?”

“I was the last one standing, indeed.” the Elf answered and Aragorn knew him well enough to read the hidden amusement in his voice.

“You will tease him about this, will you not?” Aragorn asked with a smirk while he settled next to his friend on the bench.

“You sound like you expect me to take pleasure in his defeat.” The Elf managed to sound indignant. Aragorn only raised a brow.

“Maybe a little.” Legolas admitted after a moment, a small grin ghosting over his face. “Look who entered the hall.”

Aragorn followed his friend's gaze and saw Haldir and the Rohirrim Marshal step into the hall together. This time, they did not look like they had had a quarrel, though. They looked around for some time, then they seemed to have discovered Legolas and himself and came over to their table. Aragorn invited them to sit down and noticed the faint blush on the Man's cheeks with interest.

“How do you like the celebrations so far?” the Rohirrim asked while he and Haldir settled on the opposite site of the table, both a mug in their hands.

“It is a pleasant feast.” Aragorn replied, puffing out the smoke of his pipe. “And the wine is good.”

Legolas lips quirked a smile. “The ale is not bad, either.”

“Well, it does certainly not happen every day that one sees an Elf outdrink a Dwarf.” the Man chuckled, a grin on his face. “Congratulations, by the way, Master Legolas.”

Legolas accepted the praise with a modest bow of his head. “Thank you, my Lord. It was my pleasure.”

“So I believe.” Aragorn heard Haldir comment and saw him grin slightly.

“It was a honestly earned victory.” Legolas stated quietly, the smile still ghosting over his lips.

“I can attest to that, since it was I who was handing out the ale.” the Rohirrim said, raising his jug to him. “I am amazed, though, at the amount you were able to drink. And even now you do not seem to be affected by it.”

“We are unaffected by your kind of alcohol.” Haldir supplied an answer instead of Legolas. “It differs from the alcohol we produce, because that one affects us as much as yours affects you.”

“So you can drink it like water and you would never be drunk?” The Rohirrim seemed surprised. Aragorn had known the ineffectiveness of the alcohol of Men on Elves for decades and had grown used to it.

“Well, it still feel a tickle in my fingertips, but apart from that I am indeed sober.” Legolas clarified and Aragorn had to suppress a grin. He was well aware what a massive amount of alcohol it took to make an Elf feel this tickle, and he silently complimented Gimli to the hard competition he must have been if he had made Legolas drink that much.

“I have never had that tickling sense.” Haldir let them know. “It takes much to get it.”

“Indeed.” the Rohirrim laughed. “I freely admit that I will never be able to win against you, or Master Gimli for that matter.”

“That is not surprising, Horselord.” Haldir explained with a smile hovering on the edged of his lips. “We have a much higher resistance to your alcohol. If this game was to be played with Elfwine, you might have more chances. It affects us even more than your wine affects you.”

“It is good, then, that there is no Elfwine available, or I would dare you to prove that to me.” the Rohirrim replied with a challenging grin. “We would see then which one of us is more resistant.”

“I will come back to that dare, Horselord.” Aragorn meant to see a teasing glimmer in Haldir's eyes that he had never seen in his normally so reserved friend before.

An easy discussion developed between the four of them and Aragorn kept a careful eye on the Man and the Elf opposite of him. He was certain Legolas had noticed something as well, but he was as well trained at hiding his thoughts as Aragorn was himself. It had become very late and the hall was mostly populated by sleeping drunken men and some tables were still occupied with groups talking and laughing.

Haldir looked around and then stood up. “I will take my leave and get some sleep, my friends.”

“It is late.” Aragorn agreed. “We will soon follow your example.”

“I will leave as well.” the Rohirrim said and rose to join the Haldir. “We will see each other in the morning, my friends. Sleep well.”

“You too, Éomer.” Aragorn answered kindly and nodded slightly as a goodbye. The Man turned and Haldir walked next to him towards the door, here and there stepping over sleeping Men on the floor.

“What do you think about them?” Legolas asked very quietly and made a vague gesture that included Haldir and Éomer who were just about to leave the hall.

Aragorn followed them with his gaze, one brow raised. “It will be interesting to follow their development.”

“My guess is it will be quite intensive.” Legolas added, still watching the door the Man and the Elf had disappeared through. “For them.”

After a short pause, he continued, more reflective this time. “In the long time I have known Haldir, I have never seen him so...” Legolas stopped for a second, looking for the right word. “... fascinated by anybody.”

“Especially by a Man.” Aragorn added what Legolas had not said aloud. “I agree with you. He is very forthcoming and open towards Éomer, it surprised me from the beginning. He tries not to show it, though.”

“So I realised.” The Elven archer fell silent for a while, letting his thoughts wander. “Do you think they noticed their attraction to each other yet?”

The Man thought about it for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “Noticed, maybe, but not acted on it. They are both very fierce and I think it will take them some more time to acknowledge it.”

“That was also my guess.” Legolas said and leaned back, obviously deep in thoughts.

***

Haldir woke in the middle of the night to screams for help. He was wide awake and upright instantly and found Pippin writhing on the floor, the palantir burning in his hands. Aragorn was already with the Hobbit, freeing him from the evil eye and fighting with it himself before he managed to let go and it rolled through the room. Gandalf was fast to react, covering the seeing stone with a cloth to take its powers.

One glance at the halfling left no doubt he was not well. He was motionless, eyes wide open and he looked as if he were dead. Gandalf rushed to his side and somehow managed to bring him back. The Hobbit was obviously shell shocked when the wizard forced him to tell everything that had happened, and they all were aware of the possibility that Sauron now knew about Frodo and the Ring.

It was very early morning when they met with King Theoden and Éomer in the Golden Hall, the first rays of sunlight just filtered through the high windows. Haldir let his gaze wander over the Rohirrim and enjoyed his slightly ruffled appearance that suggested that he had just recently woken up. Once Gandalf began to talk, though, he looked very alert, brows furrowed and listened attentively.

It was clear that the war for Middle Earth had entered a new level. The king of Rohan seemed not entirely too inclined to go to war for Gondor, but Gandalf made it unmistakably clear that this war concerned the whole of Middle Earth and that their only chance against Sauron was to do what the evil lord feared most, namely uniting under one banner. Haldir could see that the Third Marshal did not like the idea to lead his people to war again so soon either, but he seemed to understand the situation and therefore be willing to do it if necessary. When Gandalf left with the Hobbit Pippin, everybody knew to look for the beacons. They would have three days at least until the wizard arrived in Minas Tirith, then they would be waiting for the call for aid of Gondor, even though it was not certain yet if the king of Rohan would decide to follow it.

Shortly after the meeting, Haldir and some other Elves joined the healers who still fought for the lives of several Men, even though all Elves in their care had started to recover. The speed of Elven healing surprised the healers, but they were happy about the improved condition of their unusual patients. Every life saved lifted the spirits of everybody at the house of healing. Haldir enjoyed the company of the old woman, the healer Melanwyn by name, whom he had worked with at Helm's Deep. She was very skilled, Haldir noticed, and he tried to learn some of her knowledge by watching and listening to her while they were working together.

It became evening before he saw the Third Marshall again. Haldir went to the Golden Hall for dinner and met Legolas, Aragorn and the Dwarf at the entry. He greeted them and decided to join them at a table, letting his gaze wander over the people present in the hall and searching for the Rohirrim. The Man sat with his uncle, his sister and the other Rohirrim leaders at a table and appeared to be deeply involved in a discussion. He wore a tunic and had forgone the armour, hair loose and expression concentrated on the topic of the conversation. Haldir watched him, noticing again how fascinating the Man was. He seemed to radiate wild power and thoughtful discipline at the same time and Haldir wondered how it was possible to combine such contradictory traits in one person.

“You seem to be quite intrigued by the Third Marshal.” he heard Aragorn remark next to him.

“I find Men very fascinating.” Haldir replied evenly and casually took another piece of bread. “They are very different from Elves.”

“Indeed, they are.” Legolas agreed. “They show passion where we restrain and courage where we do not expect it.”

“I think we should have more contact between our two races instead of harbouring and cultivating prejudices on both sides.” Haldir said after a moment. He was one of the few Elves who had on their own accord left the Woods several times to learn about Men and who actually spoke the common language. Even his brothers knew only a few words, not much more than most of his archers.

“That is a very good thought. Maybe this war will help our races to cross the borders as necessity forces them to seek each other's help.” Aragorn mused. “I noticed that some of your archers started to befriend the people of Rohan and some even try to learn the common language. It may be a beginning.”

Haldir nodded. “I encouraged them to do so. And the people of Rohan show us great hospitality that makes it much easier to get into contact with them.”

“I find it also very easy to get along with the Rohirrim.” Legolas agreed with an affirmative nod. “They are good and honest people.”

“And they have great ale.” the Dwarf remarked, raising his mug as if to prove his point. “They know how to drink properly.”

Legolas smirked. “Elves do know that as well.”

The Dwarf made an indignant sound that let everybody at the table know what he thought about that. Haldir chuckled, he took pleasure in the fact that Legolas had beaten the Dwarf in the drinking contest of the night before.

It was long since dark when Haldir retreated to his shared room. He thought it was a pity that there had been no occasion to talk to the Third Marshal. He enjoyed the Man's company and their conversation in the garden behind the Golden Hall had proven it could be very interesting to talk with the Man when they did not get in a quarrel. Lost in his thoughts, Haldir undressed and got ready for bed. When the Hobbit came in some time after him, he was still thinking about the Man.

The sun was still some time away from rising when Haldir got up and left the room he shared with the Hobbit and the Dwarf who were both still sound asleep. He made his way to the garden behind the Golden Hall to find some space and calm to train and take a sunbath afterwards when dawn would break. Before he turned the corner before the garden, his sharp hearing picked up the sound of a sword swung through the air and the rhythmic movements of feet that were typical for a single person training. Haldir approached the garden without making any sound and remained in the shadows of the overhanging roof of the hall.

He could make out a lonely figure going through swift, fluent moves of combat. It did not take him long to recognise Éowyn, niece of the King, showing perfectly carried out attacks and parries with a middle length broadsword. The colour in her cheeks indicated that she had already been training for some time and Haldir decided to retreat and not disturb her. It was obvious to him that she practised here at this early hour because she did not want to be seen and it was not his place to disregard her wish. As silently as he had come, he retreated back around the corner of the Golden Hall and walked to the front of the building.

Haldir found another peaceful spot at the side of the platform of Meduseld where he took his time to go through his practice routine and stopped only shortly after sunrise. He sat down, back leaned against the stone platform of the Golden Hall, closed his eyes and let the sun caress his skin. When he heard the noise from the hall indicating that breakfast had started, he got up, stretched and walked up the stairs to the entry of Meduseld. He found his friends already sitting at a table and helping themselves with the food and joined them. The Third Marshal was nowhere to be seen and had still not arrived when Haldir and Legolas left the hall to join the other Elves in repairing weapons and armours. There was a lot to work on and Haldir went over the plans for the day with his archers before starting to work his own sword.

“Do you care to join us in hunting, Haldir?” At the sound of his name in that particular voice, the Elf looked up from the bench he sat on and sharpened his sword. The Third Marshal stood in front of him, wearing what was obviously hunting gear and holding a longbow in his hand.

“I would very much enjoy that.” Haldir agreed and set the grindstone aside.

“We will leave in a few minutes. Meeting at the stables.” the Man let him know and turned to leave. Haldir got up, sheathed his sword and went to his room to retrieve his bow, the quiver and his hunting knives. Not much later he was at the stables and saddled Merod in the courtyard. Some Rohirrim were preparing their horses as well when the Third Marshal joined them, leading his horse.

“We will ride over to the forest. We need meat, you are allowed to shoot at will.” the Man said loudly while mounting Firefoot. ”At the moment we need everything you can shoot, from rabbits to deer. We are short of supplies after the journey to Helm's Deep, so do your best.”

Haldir mounted Merod at the same time as the other Men of the hunting party and noticed they were a group of about twenty riders, all equipped with bows and arrows. They rode out of the city, led by the Third Marshal, then over the planes towards a forest not too far away. Still, the ride took at least an hour, according to the position of the sun, before they reached the rim of the woods. With every metre they approached the trees, Haldir felt the spirit and the presence of the forest grow stronger in his mind and he enjoyed the feeling of this connection he had missed since he left Lorien. In some distance to the tree line they stopped and dismounted.

“We leave the horses and enter on foot. Form groups of at least two people. We will meet here again before sunset.” the Third Marshal announced and left it to the Men to organise themselves. “Go, Rohirrim, and bring good prey!”

The Men took their supplies from the saddles and quickly gathered in small groups. Haldir decided to stay with their leader and watch him. It would be very interesting to see how he behaved in the woods and how he hunted. It told a lot about the character of a person, the Elf had learned a long time ago.

“If you do not mind, I would like to join you.” the Elf said to the Rohirrim while he took his water bottle from the saddle.

“Of course not.” the Man replied, counting the arrows in his quiver, then looking up. “It will be my pleasure.”

Haldir walked next to the Rohirrim towards the rim of the forest, around them other groups were already disappearing between the trees. The moment his feet touched the leaf-covered ground, Haldir felt the spirit of the forest sing in his whole being. He realised how much he had missed this feeling and understood again why so many woodland Elves were reluctant to leave the forest. They were able to live without this connection, but they were never complete without it.

The Rohirrim had a very careful and silent footing, Haldir noticed while they ventured deeper into the woods. The Man was alert and ready to shoot at any moment, arrow at the bowstring, bow pointed downwards, the same position Haldir had taken. They were both concentrated on their surroundings, but Haldir had the advantage of being able to feel the woods and the life in it. He saw the rabbit next to a small rock and had shot it before the Man even had noticed it. There was another one only a few steps away that had started to run, but Haldir had already aimed and shot a second arrow.

The Man stood next to him and had just realised what had happened when Haldir lowered his bow and walked over to his prey. He made sure the animals were dead, retrieved his arrows and bound the rabbits together at their hind legs. “Let us go on.”

Without a word, but with a wrinkle on his forehead, the Rohirrim caught up to him. Haldir knew he was showing off to the Man on purpose. They were in his domain now, the woods were an Elf's territory and Haldir was well aware that his abilities were superior to the Man's, especially as long as they were in here. It somehow tempted him to let the Man see some of that strength.

With the rabbits bound to his belt, Haldir took up the hunt again. He always knew where the Rohirrim was by the tiny sounds he made, not audible for a Man's ear, but easily perceptible for his sharp Elven hearing. They walked the woods for some time until Haldir picked up on a wild pig in the distance. He slowed down and raised his bow, aimed and let go of the bowstring. The squeak of the pig let him know he had hit the mark. The Man stood besides him, a frown on his face. Haldir suppressed a smirk and started to cross the distance to where the wild pig lay on its side. When he was about to bind the pig's legs together, he heard the Rohirrim come to an halt next to him.

“That is a nice prey. You are a skilled hunter.” the Man remarked and Haldir was pleased to hear the hidden respect in the words.

“I am a woodland Elf, Éomer.” Haldir said with a little smile, deliberately using the Man's name.“My connection to the forest is at least as deep as yours to your horses.”

“What does that mean?” the Man asked with a quizzical expression, the little wrinkle still on his forehead.

“It means that I am one with the forest. I can feel it, hear it, understand it.” Haldir explained. The Man had a right to know after Haldir had made him look like a fool. “I can pick up on the animals far earlier than you can, also thanks to my Elven hearing.”

“I would call that an advantage.” the Rohirrim stated dryly, arms crossed.

“Indeed.” Haldir smiled apologetically. “I used my abilities without letting you know. I beg your pardon.”

“You proved to be the better hunter, though.” the Man said and pointed at the two rabbits and the wild pig. “I have not even shot once today.”

“You will.” Haldir smirked. “I have to carry the pig, I cannot shoot anymore.”

The Rohirrim snorted, a crooked grin on his face. “Thank you very much. I feel better now.”

“That was my intention.” Haldir chuckled and picked up the wild pig to fling it over his shoulder. He followed the Man, letting him lead the way. He had had his share of amusement on this hunt and decided not to show off any more. When they stopped to eat something some time later, the Rohirrim had shot two rabbits of his own and Haldir felt it did the Man some good to prove his own hunting skills. The Elf set down his prey next to Éomer's, settled on a rock opposite of the Man and took out his provisions for the day. They ate in companionable silence and Haldir enjoyed the peace of the forest, the sounds of the animals and plants around them and the smell of the woods.

When they had finished, Haldir excused himself for a while to collect some healing herbs he wanted to give to Melanwyn because he knew the healer ran short on some supplies. He walked slowly between the trees, gaze fixed on the ground and stopped here and there to gather some herbs and store them in the pouch on his belt. When he returned to the place where they had eaten, he found the Man binding another rabbit to the bunch of prey.

“Have you been successful?” the Rohirrim asked and looked up.

“Aye. I have found enough supplies of the herbs the healers will need in the next days.” Haldir replied and patted the pouch. “But I see you were no less successful.”

With a smirk, the Man looked at the dead animal. “It happened to cross my path.”

Haldir chuckled. “Did it? How convenient.”

“Indeed. Let us try to hunt some more, we do not have much time left.”

“If the others were as successful as we were, Edoras will have enough meat for the next time.” Haldir mused when he picked up the wild pig.

“I hope so. My people need it.” the Man agreed, then they continued to walk the woods. When they approached the rim of the forest where they had accessed it, the sun had begun to set and the bunch of rabbits had grown further. At the place they had left their horses they found several of the other Men had already returned, all with rich prey, one group had even managed to shoot a deer. They were occupied with attaching the dead animals on the saddles of the horses that had waited the whole day right where they had been left.

Haldir and Éomer joined the others and started to secure the prey to their saddles as well. When all hunters were out of the forest and ready to leave, they mounted and rode back to Edoras. The journey took longer because of the additional weight and the difficulty of transporting the deer. When they entered the city and stopped the horses in the courtyard, many women and young boys from the kitchens already waited for them and accepted the dead animals, carrying them wherever they were processed into food. Haldir took care of Merod, groomed him and brought him fresh water and hay before the returned to his archers.

For the other Elves, he day had been filled with all those little works that needed badly to be done in order to restore their fighting strength. The repair of weapons, from swords to bows, the production of new arrows and the cleaning and repairing of armours. Haldir joined the works until it was time for dinner. He felt messy, he knew he had stains of dirt and grease from weapons and armours all over his clothes and face like his fellow Elves did. They would have to finish some smaller works in the morning, but they had mostly achieved what had been intended for the day.

Haldir left the smithy where he had worked last to sharpen the blades of several Elven swords and went to get some water to wash off the dirt as far as possible before he entered the Golden Hall for dinner. Most people were already sitting at the tables, after a short moment Haldir saw Aragorn, Legolas and the Dwarf sharing the table with the Third Marshal and made his way over to them.

***

“May I join you?”

Éomer looked up at the words to see who had asked, even though he had recognised the voice immediately, when Aragorn already answered. “Of course, my friend.”

The Elven captain sat down on the free place next to Éomer and set his plate and his mug down.

“You spent the day with repair works, it seems.” Aragorn remarked with a look to the obvious stains on the Elf's tunic.

“As did Legolas.” replied the Elf and with a little smile pointed out Legolas equally dirty clothes.

“Indeed. It was work that needed to be done, as unpleasant as it might sometimes be.”

“That is true.” Éomer agreed. He had spent the rest of the day devoted to repairs of all kinds as well. It was one of the curses of battle.

“Even an axe needs caring.” Gimli agreed. Éomer was still surprised at the obvious friendship between Legolas and the Dwarf, he would never have expected an Elf to befriend a Dwarf. The captain of the Elven archers did not seem to share Legolas' attitude towards the Dwarf, though.

Aragorn turned to Legolas to ask him something and Éomer listened with half an ear while eating his dinner. Gimli joined their discussion, but Éomer did not pay much attention to them. He watched the fascinating Elf next to him out of the corner of the eye, finding that he appeared much more approachable with those little stains on his skin and his clothes.

“Say, Horselord, can you tell me a place where it is possible to take a proper bath?” The Elf had turned towards him and looked at him.

“We have some tubs, as you know. The servants can fill one with hot water if you wish so.” Éomer wondered about the question, but since he had understood the Elf's need for baths he did not question it any further.

“I would prefer something like a stream or a lake.” The Elf demonstratively looked up and down his own appearance. “I am filthy. I want to be able to immerse in the water, to get thoroughly soaked. That is hardly possible in a tub.”

“The water of any stream will be cold, you know that.” Éomer remarked with a doubtful undertone before he took a sip of his wine.

The Elf gave him a small smile. “That will be no problem, for Elves do not get cold.”

“Well then, who am I to deny you a little pleasure if it can so easily be achieved.” Éomer agreed with a little sigh. “We will need to ride for a short while, tough. We shall get to the stables after dinner then.”

“I am very grateful you allow me that little pleasure.” the Elf replied with a little bow of his head and continued to eat the bread and the cheese on his plate. Éomer saw the smile that quirked the Elf's lips and could only describe it as teasing.

When dinner was finished, Éomer left the hall and the Elf followed him down to the stables. They separated to take their horses out of the boxes and met in the courtyard. Éomer mounted Firefoot, he had not bothered with a saddle and found the Elf had not bothered either. They left the city and turned to the right. Éomer knew exactly where he wanted to go, he had a place in his mind that the Elf would surely enjoy. It was not far away, the ride took only some minutes.

“I hope this place is to your liking.” Éomer said when he stopped Firefoot at the edge of the natural pool that had formed in a little arm of the stream. He heard the Elf halt Merod not far behind him.

“It is beautiful.” The Elf's voice was gentle and when Éomer turned to look in his face, he found a content smile on his features. With one graceful motion the Elf dismounted, patted Merod on the neck and went straight to the shore of the stream. He looked around, walked over to a small rock and began to remove his clothes. Éomer still sat transfixed on Firefoot and could not help watching the Elf disrobe, apparently unconcerned by his nudity. He had no reason to be concerned, Éomer thought to himself, for he had a simply magnificent body.

“Do you plan on only watching me or will you bath yourself?” The slightly teasing tone in the Elf's voice made Éomer look up and he saw a mischievous grin on his face.

Éomer cleared his throat and dismounted. “I will make use of the opportunity and take a bath as well.”

He walked over to the rock where the Elf had laid down his clothes and began to undo his tunic. He knew he was acceptably handsome, his appearance had never displeased the ladies, but compared to the Elf he felt plump and clumsy. He removed his boots and trousers and when he waded into the little pool, he found that the Elf had turned his back to him and was gently whistling while washing the upper part of his body.

Éomer walked waist deep into the stream and watched the back of the Elf, how the bright hair flowed over his shoulders into the water in slow, elegant motions caused by the movements of the Elf. He felt the overwhelming desire to touch the fair skin, to find out how it would feel under his fingertips. He wanted to kiss him, taste him, feel him.

When Éomer saw the other warrior turn towards him he had to take a deep breath and tried to keep his emotions off his face, shocked himself about the strength of his desire. He had obviously not succeed entirely in hiding his thoughts, because he found the Elf giving him an intense gaze before slowly approaching two steps.

“Do you like what you see, Éomer?”

The Man did not know if it was the deep, full sound of the Elf's voice, the content of the question or the use of his name that sent a shiver through the whole of his body. He had to swallow and unconsciously licked his suddenly dry lips. The Elf's eyes followed the movement and seemed to darken. Éomer felt unable to speak and licked his lips again in an unsuccessful attempt to regain his composure. The only thing his mind registered was how close the Elf stood and how incredible attractive he was.

The Elf took two more steps forward, deliberately entering Éomer's personal space, eyes locked with his. His voice was deep and a bit rough. “I like what I see.”

This sent another shiver down Éomer's spine. They stood so close that he could feel the Elf's warmth on his skin. It would take but a small movement to close the distance between them. Éomer noticed for the first time that the Elf was a few centimetres shorter than him and had slightly lifted his chin as if to challenge the Man to kiss him.

Éomer noticed how the Elf slowly lifted his hands out of the water, then he felt his long fingers on his shoulders, gliding over his skin until they settled on the side of his neck an gave a little pull. Éomer followed willingly, leaning in until Haldir's lips met his and he forgot all prudence. His arms rose and settled around the Elf's waist, pulling him closer until he was pressed all along the Man's body. The feeling of the close contact made Éomer moan into the other man's mouth. The Elf used the opportunity and let his tongue slide into the Rohirrim's mouth, sending sparks all over his skin, fingers massaging Éomer's scalp and tingling in his hair.

Éomer let his tongue duel with the Elf's, not willing to let the dominant Elf take over the kiss. His hands roamed all over the beautiful body, touching all the skin he could reach, caressing, scratching lightly, massaging. He let his mouth wander along the Elf's jawline up to his ear, gently biting the lobe. When Éomer trailed his tongue up the outer shell to the pointed tip of the Elf's ear, the reaction was so immediate and intense that it took the Man by surprise. The moment his lips closed around the tip the Elf melted against him with a deep throaty moan, the long fingers clawed into the Man's shoulders, eyes pressed shut in an expression of total pleasure.

At the very first moment, Éomer thought he had done something wrong, but when the Elf's groin came into contact with his, there was no misunderstanding possible. Haldir's erection pressed hard against his, leaving no doubt his ear tips must be highly sensitive and Éomer gently licked over the flesh again to verify his assumption. Immediately, the Elf's hips pressed against his and the full lips opened to let out another moan that came from deep in his throat.

“Oh Valar...” Haldir's breath was fast and his voice had deepened with desire. Éomer found he liked the sound.

“I assume that means you like it when I kiss the tips of your ears.” He remarked quietly, surprised how husky his own voice was.

The Elf chuckled. “I think you noticed that, mellon.”

Haldir's arms were settled loosely around the Man's shoulders, his fingers tingled in the wild blonde mane. His hips were still pressed against Éomer's and every small movement imposed delicate friction onto their groins. The Elf deliberately rotated his hips in a way that made Éomer's breath catch in his throat.

Haldir bent forwards until his lips were right next to the Man's ears. “I assume that means you like what I do.”

It took Éomer a moment to form a sentence, but then he replied with a teasing smile, “Indeed, I do. But I think you noticed that.”

The Elf chuckled again, a sound that sent a prickling shiver down Éomer's spine. The Man let his hands slide down along the Elf's sides, into the water, until he could cup the nice backside and exert more pressure on their erections that were caught between their bodies. Haldir groaned against his neck and let his head fall down to rest on the Man's shoulder, mouth finding the soft skin under the Rohirrim's ear and starting to suck gently.

Éomer found that his ability to think coherently left him more with every moment he was close to this tempting Elf and decided that he did not care. He let his hands caress the Elf's backside, then he reached down between their bodies and found Haldir's hard member. As if surprised, the Elf's mouth let go of his neck with a groan, his hands tightening in Éomer's hair. Experimentally, the Man gave a few strokes and was rewarded by another low groan against his neck. To give him better access, the Elf raised his legs, using the natural uplift of the water, and wrapped them around Éomer's waist. The change of position settled the Man's erection against Haldir's backside, the feeling of the Elf's cheeks against his flesh made Éomer moan and he let his head lean onto the crook of Haldir's neck.

Éomer's perception narrowed down to the contact of the Elf's skin with his, the lips that had returned to his throat, the hands in his hair and on his back, the hard flesh his own hand, the incredible intense sensation caused by the movements of the Elf's hips. The Man licked the skin of the Elf's neck that was right in front of his mouth and kissed a path up to the jaw.

“Allow me to make love to you.” Éomer whispered against Haldir's ear, gently nibbling the sensitive tip again and sending tremors through the Elf's body, accompanied by a deep moan. The Elf's breath felt hot against the skin of his throat.

It seemed to take Haldir some time to find his speech before he answered, voice low and rough. “Do you know what to do?”

Éomer smiled against the soft skin under his lips. His Elf was still thinking to much. “Aye, I do.”

“Well, then.” Éomer could hear as well as feel the Elf chuckle. “What are you waiting for?”

He had no doubt Haldir knew the pleasures of male flesh, the Elf must be several thousand years old and Éomer was aware that relationships between the same gender were commonplace for Elves. It was good that they both knew what to do and to expect.

Éomer nibbled at the pointed tip of the Elf's ear again, seriously taking pleasure in the intense reactions this simple touch caused. Then he let his lips find Haldir's mouth, gently biting his lips before following the Elf's attempt to deepen the kiss. At the same time, the Man let one hand slide towards the backside of his lover, finding the little hole and caressing it. Haldir pressed back against him, obviously familiar with the feeling, and Éomer entered him carefully with one finger, well aware that they had nothing to ease the way apart from the water they stood in.

The Elf moaned gently into the the kiss, pushing back against the finger penetrating him. He did not seem to feel any discomfort, so Éomer went deeper, then retreated and let a second finger join the first. He stopped to let the Elf adjust when he was all the way in, then moved slowly, stretching as well as looking for that spot he knew from his own experience made this the most pleasurable coupling. When Haldir let out a sudden gasp, the Man knew he had found what he had been looking for and hit the spot a second time. He introduced a third finger, slowly, not wanting to hurt the Elf. Haldir panted against his neck, head resting on the Man's shoulder.

“I am not fragile, Éomer.” Haldir murmured against his neck, voice raw with desire as well as impatience. The use of his name in that special voice let goosebumps spread all over the Man's skin and he retreated his fingers to replace them with his hard erection. It cost him all his discipline to keep a slow and steady pace when he slid into the tight channel, but the Elf met him halfway, sinking down onto his erection with astonishing ease and a low groan.

“Haldir...” The name escaped Éomer before he could think about it when he was completely sheathed inside the Elf, loosing himself in the feeling of the tight heat surrounding him. The Elf left him no time to adjust, but started moving on his own accord, taking advantage of his position to lift himself off the Man and then sinking back on. The stimulation was too much for Éomer, his eyes fell shut and a loud moan escaped him, his hands tightening on Haldir's hips. He followed the rhythm the Elf set, angling his thrusts so he hit this spot every time and enjoying the mindless noise he extracted from his Elf.

The tension built up much faster than Éomer would have wanted, but the contact with Haldir was far too intense for him to keep going for much longer. He tightened his grasp on the Elf's erection and sped up the pace, hoping his legs would support the two of them some time longer. He felt his orgasm building up and then he came with a force he had not experienced before, hearing the hoarse cry of the Elf that told him he was not alone in climax. As he had predicted, his legs buckled under him, and he held onto the boneless Elf in his arms while letting the two of them sink slowly deeper into the water until his knees met the ground.

Haldir's head had dropped onto Éomer's shoulder, his arms hanging very loosely around the Man's neck, his breathing fast and irregular. Éomer forced himself to remain upright to keep them from sinking under water and left his arms wrapped around the Elf's back to support him. After some time that they had remained motionless and tried to regain their breath, he heard the Elf chuckle against his shoulder.

“We still have not washed.” Haldir remarked, a teasing but satisfied smile on his face. “Your hair is even still mostly dry.”

“I can assist you, if you wish.” Éomer heard himself answer and wondered where the idea had come from. Aye, their coupling had been mind-blowing, but normally he was not the kind of man to take it any further than that. But with the Elf, he did not feel the urge to get out of his sight after his desire had been satisfied. He rather wished to stay close to him, enjoy his presence and his touch some more.

“I would like that.” Haldir answered with this little smile that bordered on a full one. He pulled back enough to be able to look the Man in the eyes. “Will you let me return the favour?”

For a moment, Éomer was surprised by the question. But if he was honest to himself, this had never been just about satisfying his physical desire. He could have had that with people who were far easier to handle than this arrogant, but fascinating Elf.

He smiled gently. “I will.”

***

When they had ridden back into the city and had their horses settled in the stables, they made their way over to the Golden Hall. They had just entered when the doorward, Háma if Haldir remembered correctly, stepped into their way.

“Lord Éomer, the King asked for you.”

The Man nodded immediately. “Thank you, Háma. I will go to see him right now.”

Éomer watched the ward retreat before he turned to Haldir. “I am sorry, but I have to leave you. I have to go to my uncle.”

Haldir gave a small nod with his lips slightly quirked to a smile . “Do not worry, my friend. I am in royal service as well, I understand that very well.”

The Man held his gaze, his eyes showing that he really regretted the course the evening had taken the moment they had entered the hall. There was more in those green eyes, but Haldir was not able to read it.

“Thank you.” the Man said quietly before stepping back.

Haldir was well aware that those words did not only refer to the understanding he had provided, but that they were meant for the whole evening. It made him feel good and he let his smile show. “You are most welcome.”

“I will see you in the morning, Haldir.” the Rohirrim replied with a crooked smile, deliberately using the Elf's name. Haldir felt a shiver run down his spine at the sound of his name from Éomer's lips with this nice dark timbre in his voice. Haldir watched the Man leave the hall towards the quarters of his uncle and decided to retreat to the room he shared with the Hobbit Merry. It would do him good to get a full night of sleep. Especially after this rather active bath, he thought with a grin.

The room was empty when Haldir entered and he savoured the solitude and the silence. He removed his outer tunics and his boots and lay down in the bed. He stared at the beams of the wooden ceiling, replaying the bath in his mind. It had been bold to approach the Man, but Haldir had felt this tension between them from the first meeting on and he had been certain it was mutual. He obviously had been right, Éomer had indeed been as interested as he was himself and their lovemaking had been very satisfactory. The memory alone made Haldir's skin prickle.

It took Haldir a long time to find sleep and he still heard the Hobbit coming in and going to bed. He woke with the first sunbeams filtering into the room and got up to. He dressed and went outside to enjoy the early morning in the garden behind the Golden Hall. He sat on the bench where Éomer had apologised to him and let the sun caress his face. The sun was for Elves as vital as water was for Men and Haldir had always taken great pleasure in a sunbath in the morning.

When he entered the hall, servants were running between the tables and set up bread, cheese, meat, ale and water for breakfast. Haldir joined Legolas at one table, shortly followed by the Dwarf and the Hobbit. With a searching glance Haldir found Éomer standing with his uncle and his sister. The Man shortly returned his gaze before he went back to talking with his uncle. Haldir began to eat, he and Legolas were listening to the other two chatting happily about everything and nothing when the door flung open and Haldir heard Aragorn run in before he even saw him.

“The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!”

The few seconds it took for the King to reply seemed to stretch unbearably. Haldir's heart filled with relief when he heard the King say: “And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim!”

A few orders were given and Haldir saw the Third Marshal nod before the Man looked at his sister who stood next to him and gently touched her arm before turning to leave the hall. He let his gaze linger on Haldir for a moment before stepping outside. There was no time to talk and Haldir did not like to part from the Man without having had the opportunity to address the events of the last night. It was obvious to both of them that it had not only been a pleasure for one night. But now was neither the time nor the right place to talk and Haldir knew that as well as the Man.

Within an hour, the Rohirrim Riders, the Elven archers and their leaders mounted their horses, ready to move out to the different parts of the Riddermark to muster whatever troops possible. Haldir rode next to Aragorn, watching Éomer who led the forces with his uncle. War was close now and Haldir hoped dearly he would get a chance to talk to the Man before they entered battle.

***

Éomer and his riders left the main forces after half a day's ride, shortly after the troops from the Second Marshal had split from them to ride for the villages and small towns that spread through the Mark. It would take the full two days the King had given him to muster the men of his part of the Mark, Éomer knew, and they would have to ride fast to reach to Dunharrow in time.

He let a short gaze wander over the forces that stayed with his uncle, looking for the captain of the Elves. He rode next to Aragorn, the Elven troops following on the horses the Rohirrim had provided for them. He was elegant and obviously skilled on horseback, falling effortlessly into pace with the movements of his horse. He was beautiful, just his sight made Éomer remember the activities of the last night and brought colour into his cheeks at the thought of the things they had done. He knew he wanted to repeat the experience and was certain that the Elf felt the same way. There had been something between them, something that had made him feel connected to Haldir in a way he had never felt before.

He and his eored moved further and further away from the main forces until they were out of sight. Éomer resolutely banished all thoughts of the Elf from is mind and concentrated on the task at hand. They were preparing for war, this was not the time to muse on his Elven lover. He was not certain lover was the right term for what they had, but it was the only one he could think of.

The day was mostly spent in riding from one village to the next, announcing the war and mustering whatever men were able to fight. Their forces grew steadily and they spent the night outside a small village before continuing the mustering in the early morning. There was much to do, the men who joined the troops were not always well equipped with weaponry or armour, but every one owned a horse. When they would arrive at Dunharrow, there would be a lot to do to supply an equal level of equipment for all Rohirrim, Éomer noticed during the mustering.

They rode to as many towns as possible before they had to turn to reach Dunharrow by the evening. Éomer left some men to cover the remaining villages with the task to ride to Minas Tirith to meet up with the main forces. Every man would count when they met with Sauron's army, even if they joined later.

When Éomer and his forces arrived at the valley of Harrowdale, there were already several thousand men assembled on the field in front of the Dunharrow plateau. Éomer organised an area for his men to set up camp before he went looking for his uncle to report the number of men he had been able to muster. He let Firefoot slowly walk through the encampment, always letting his gaze search between the masses of tents that covered the fields in the valley. When he turned towards the plateau, he could make out a group of riders led by his uncle and Aragorn. Behind them he recognised Legolas and Gimli on their horse and next to them Haldir on Merod. He had managed to banish the Elf from his mind while mustering the troops, there had been enough to do to keep him occupied. But now that he saw Haldir in front of him, the strong, but graceful movements and the fierce, but elegant face, he felt a wave of desire hit him that surprised him in its strength.

Gods, he wanted the Elf. After tasting him, Éomer instinctively knew he would never be satisfied by anybody else. It had only been little more than a day since he had last seen Haldir, and yet the urge to touch him was nearly overwhelming. Éomer held back, well aware of the company of thousands of warriors and the fact that they were at the middle of the preparations to ride for war. Firefoot carried him over to join the group that was about to ride through the encampment towards the plateau of Dunharrow that overlooked the valley. When he reached the riders, his uncle greeted him and asked for his men. Less had come than they had hoped for, but there was still time until the morning when they had to leave for Gondor.

Haldir was behind him and Éomer regretted that he could not see or talk to him while riding in front with his uncle. They crossed the encampment, asking for the number of men the other parties had been able to muster and then rode up the small zigzagged path to Dunharrow. There was already a camp set up on the plateau, the royal tents mixed with several smaller ones for the leaders of the forces and some fireplaces were burning. They dismounted and the King left them.

Éomer took Firefoot over to the other horses to take care of him. When he started to take off the saddle, he noticed Aragorn, Legolas and Haldir who had followed him and unsaddled their horses as well.

“You brought many Men, Horselord.” Legolas remarked and carefully groomed Arod.

“Not enough, though.” Éomer admitted worriedly and carried some hay over to Firefoot. He used the short way back to look at Haldir and found the Elf watching him with an intense gaze.

“Let us not loose hope.” Aragorn replied. “The morning has not come yet.”

“I wish I was as confident of the future as you are.” Éomer said wistfully. “But I know that the fighting strength of my people is not enough to defeat the troops of Mordor.”

“It may not be, but it still make a difference.” Aragorn sounded sincere. “Minas Tirith is not lost as long as we are still there to come to its aid.”

“Let us hope so.” Éomer finished taking care of Firefoot and waited for Haldir to finish as well. He wanted to be alone with the Elf somewhere, so he invited him into his tent when Aragorn excused himself to join Éomer's uncle, and Legolas left with Gimli. Haldir nodded and accepted the offer without a word and followed the Man through the camp to a tent of medium size.

“It is good to see you.” he heard the Elf say the moment the flap of the tent had fallen closed and he felt the slightly rough voice make a shiver run down his spine. This were the first words Haldir had spoken since they had parted for the mustering over a day ago. Éomer turned to look at the Elf and found the beautiful face impassive, but the eyes were burning.

“I can only return that.” To his surprise, Éomer noticed his voice was no less rough than the Elf's. He did not want to talk now, he wanted to grab Haldir and kiss him, feel him, taste him. Eyes fixed on the Elf, he licked his lips and took a careful step towards him, not entirely certain he was welcome. They had not had a chance to talk since that bath in the stream and it was only the darkening of the Elf's eyes that gave Éomer the courage to take another step, cup his face and put his lips on Haldir's.

Éomer heard the blood rush in his ears and enjoyed the feeling of the soft lips under his. He felt how Haldir's hands settled on his waist and pulled him closer. It was easy to forget the strength the Elf possessed, but when those arms closed around him Éomer sensed their power and he secretly took pleasure in the instinctive knowledge that Haldir could easily overpower him but never would. Éomer let his hands wander over the exposed skin of the Elf's neck, deepening the kiss and finding Haldir fighting him for dominance with his tongue. The Elf's hands found the buckles of the shoulder protection and the cuirass and skilfully opened them, shedding the Man of his armour and letting the parts fall to the ground with an audible chunk.

Haldir let go of his mouth just long enough to pull the chain mail over Éomer's head before he was back kissing him, hands in the blond curls and pulling the Man close. Never had Éomer had a lover who was this passionate in physical contact and so disciplined and arrogant in daily life. It turned him on to know the Elf let go of his controlled façade with him and wanted to touch him. Éomer let his fingers find the fastenings of Haldir's armour, determined to get rid of it as the Elf had done with his.

One part after the other fell to the ground under Éomer's fingers after the Elf had shaken off his cloak. The Man found that Haldir did not wear a chain mail under his armour, only a leathern outer tunic, and worried for a split second if that was enough protection. He did not want his Elf to get hurt. Haldir's mouth wandering over his jaw and down his neck made it difficult to keep his mind focussed, though, and Éomer let out a barely suppressed moan.

“Shhh, mellon, we do not want the whole camp to hear us.” Haldir's voice was low and husky and the Man could feel his breath where the Elf nibbled the sensible skin behind his ear.

“You are right, we cannot do this here.” Éomer said reluctantly. “This is neither the time nor the place.”

The Elf stopped nibbling and sighted regretfully, but did not let go of the Man. “Aye, I know.”

“We did not exactly pick the best time to find each other.” Éomer stated dryly, his hands slowly caressing the Elf's back through the leathern tunic.

Haldir chuckled and the Man felt goosebumps spread all over his skin from the feeling of the warm breath on his neck. “You could say that.”

“Let us find something to eat.” Éomer suggested, reluctantly letting go of Haldir and arranging his slightly rumpled tunic. “Otherwise we will not leave the tent anymore. That would certainly raise suspicions.”

“I can only agree.” the Elf said with a regretful undertone in his voice and took a step back, flattening his own tunic.

“Well, we have to eat anyway. We will need our strength tomorrow and in the next days.” Éomer remarked and held the flap of the tent open for his lover.

***

Éowyn watched Merry with a smile on her face as he ran towards the smithy, swinging his sword in enthusiastic blows.

“You should not encourage him.” she heard the voice of her brother who sat at a fire next to the tent she had been in with Merry.

“You should not doubt him.” Éowyn turned to him, her tone slightly chiding.

“I do not doubt his heart, but the reach of his arm.” he answered and Éowyn hated the sarcasm in his voice.

“Just because he is smaller than you it does not give him any less reason to fight than you.” She tried to stay reasonable and to not let her temper get the better of her. She loved her brother dearly, but sometimes his ready-made opinions enraged her.

“I have to agree with you, Lady Éowyn.” It was but then that she noticed the captain of the Elven archers who sat next to her brother at the fire. “These are wise words.”

“They are no warriors.” her brother continued nonetheless. “They stand no chance in battle.”

“You are too short sighted, Éomer.” Éowyn was surprised how easily and with what familiarity the Elf used her brother's name and how quietly chiding his tone was. “Every weapon makes a difference in battle, and those fighting with their heart are sometimes more effective than those fighting only with their skill.”

“But without skill, there is no fighting, Haldir.” Éomer replied and now Éowyn was truly intrigued. The familiarity was mutual, she realised when her brother easily called the Elf by his name. She had the distinct feeling that this was not the first time they stood on opposite sides in a conversation. “When the fear takes him, and the blood and the streams and the horror of battle take hold, do you think he would stand and fight? He would flee, and he would be right to do so.”

“Nay, Éomer, I think you underestimate the Hobbit.” the Elven captain said quietly. “Do not let yourself be fooled by the exterior. Hobbits are far sturdier and far more courageous that they might appear.”

“And why should Merry be left behind? He has as much cause to go to war as you.” Éowyn came two steps closer to the fire and held her gaze focussed on her brother. “Why should he not fight for those he loves?”

“You know as little of war as that hobbit.” her brother said in a voice that almost sounded defeated. “Battle is cruel, Éowyn. It is ruthless, unjust and arbitrary. There is nothing romantic about it, and even if you survive, it will always haunt you. You should not encourage the hobbit to go through that.”

Éowyn felt a shiver run down her spine. It was the first time she had ever heard her brother talk so honestly about war, and she understood that all the years he had spent in battle had not left him untouched. Her gaze flickered over to the Elf and she saw him regard her brother with an expression that was a mix of understanding, worried and caring. It hit her in that split second that there had to be more between the Elf and her brother than met the eye.

“It is not better to stay behind.” Éowyn said quietly. “You can believe me, it haunts you just as much when your loved ones do not return and you were not there to defend them. Being unable to fight gives you a feeling of helplessness that you can never forget.”

She turned and went back into the tent. She did not feel like any more conversation of this kind, it threatened to take away the calm she needed to carry through her plan. She never doubted for a moment that what she was about to do was the right way and that she would do it, but she knew she needed a calm mind to not let anything happen that could prevent her from riding into battle with her people. Éowyn looked to the entry of the tent into the direction where her brother and the Elven captain sat at the fire. Éomer might be right about the horrors of battle, but she preferred a million times to suffer from something she had done that she knew was right than to be eaten alive by the helplessness that came from not doing anything.

***

Haldir watched the dispute between brother and sister and sensed that Éomer was trying to protect his sister without letting her know. She was a fierce spirit and Haldir instinctively knew she would not appreciate to be protected and that she felt entirely capable of doing so herself. He did not doubt that she could, either, when he had seen her train in the garden behind the Golden Hall in the very early morning hours it had been plain that she was very skilled with the sword.

Éomer did not only want to keep bodily harm from her, however, the damage that battle left even if you came out physically mostly unharmed. Every warrior had seen his share of horror that stuck to his mind and Haldir understood that Éomer wanted to spare his sister the pain. But he could also identify with Éowyn's point, he remembered times when he had been too young to be allowed into battle and he still recalled the overwhelming powerlessness when he stood at the forest border and saw his father leaving for battle. It had nearly killed him not to be allowed to go with him and he had felt such a strong urge to scream out his helplessness. He knew he would always prefer the horrors of battle to staying behind in safety, and so did Lady Éowyn.

Haldir watched the woman retreat to her tent and turned his gaze to her brother. Éomer sat still, looking into the flames, brows furrowed. “Let us go to sleep, mellon. Tomorrow will be a very demanding day and we will need all rest we can get.”

The Man raised his gaze, then nodded. “You are right.”

Haldir watched Éomer get up and followed him into his tent. It had never been a question for them if they would share the tent or not, it was understood between them they would spend the night together, even if only in sleep. Inside, Haldir removed his boot and his outer leathern tunic before he settled on the makeshift bed. He enjoyed the quiet peace that had come over him and the Man, and his heart rejoiced silently when Éomer wordlessly lay down next to him and put his head on Haldir's shoulder. He knew it was a sign of trust that the fierce Man showed him his need for comfort and allowed him to hold him, especially since they had not known each other for very long.

“Are you all right?” Haldir asked in a low voice and let his hand slowly caress the Man's neck under the thick blonde hair.

“I am fine. It overcame me. I do not want Éowyn to glorify battle.” Éomer murmured against his shoulder, but he did not move.

“You can understand her point, can you not?” Haldir pointed out quietly.

“Of course I can.” the Man answered equally gentle, his hand absent-mindedly stroking the skin of Haldir's chest. “I remember the times when I had to stay behind when I was young. I hated it with passion. But I prefer Éowyn staying behind and being furious to dead on the battlefield.”

Haldir gently pressed his lips against Éomer's temple. “She is strong and fierce. You cannot keep her in safety forever. She will escape her cage at one point.”

The Man let out a deep sigh. “I know. But I can try to protect her as long as possible.”

“I saw her train in the garden behind the Golden Hall.” Haldir told him, silently enjoying the trusting closeness of the Man. “She is a very skilled swordsman.”

Haldir felt Éomer chuckle against his shoulder. “She always trains so early in the morning that most people are still asleep and nobody sees her. I trained with her for a long time, but I do not think that our uncle is aware of the depth of her skill.”

“So you do know she is capable to fight in battle.” Haldir asked and regretted for a moment that he could not see his lover's face.

“Aye, I do. But I do not want her to know the horrors of battler.” Éomer's voice was very quiet as if he was lost in unpleasant memories.

“Do you have nightmares?” Haldir was not sure he would receive an answer to such a personal question. Éomer valued his independence and his strength highly, and he would probably see nightmares as a sign of weakness.

For some time, the Man remained silent. Only Haldir's sharp hearing made it possible for him to pick up the very quiet “Sometimes.”

“I have several battles that haunt me.” the Elf admitted gently. This was a time for complete honesty. “The memories always come when I do not expect them.”

“I know what you mean.” Éomer's hand was still caressing Haldir's skin, but the Man seemed unaware of his touch. “There are some things you just can never forget.”

“That is true.” Haldir let his fingers run through the Man's hair in a soothing caress.

“We should go to sleep.” Éomer said after a moment. “We will ride hard in the next days.”

“Sleep well, mellon.” Haldir murmured gently. He could tell the moment that his lover was taken over by sleep and was glad that he needed far less rest than the Man so he could take pleasure in watching Éomer sleep. He seemed so much younger when the strain of the day left his features, his mouth relaxed and a peaceful expression on his face. Haldir let his hand caress the wild blond hair for a long time before he fell asleep himself.

It was before sunrise that Haldir woke up. He was well trained to leave sleep at whatever time necessary and when he did, he found his lover still asleep. The Man had unconsciously cuddled up behind him, one arm possessively around his waist. Haldir enjoyed the feeling of Éomer's warm body pressed against his back and dearly regretted that he had to wake the Man up and disturb their closeness.

He turned in the embrace and gently kissed Éomer on the forehead. “Wake up, mellon. The morning has come.”

The Man stirred, then woke up with the obvious routine of a man used to getting up at very early hours. He opened his eyes and watched Haldir for a moment, then a little smile spread over his face. “Good morning, my friend.”

Haldir could not help to return the smile. “Good morning.”

Éomer stifled a yawn, then started to let go of the Elf. “If we do not get up now, we will not at all.”

Haldir chuckled. “That might happen.”

“It is a pity we cannot do so right now.” Éomer stretched and got out of the makeshift bed, then put on his boots against the cold of the earthen ground.

Haldir regretted the loss of the Man's closeness, but did not let it show. He rose as well and grabbed his boots. “As you have stated yesterday, now is truly not the right time for such pleasure.”

“Indeed.” Éomer started to put on his armour and Haldir watched him out of the corner of the eye. The Man looked very good with his red-brown cuirass, very different from an Elven warrior. Not elegant and emotionless, but wild and strong. Haldir stopped just watching and instead joined Éomer in the centre of the tent to put on his own armour. The practice of years let them finish dressing within a very short time and Haldir started to move towards the entry of the tent to get out and find something for breakfast.

“Wait a moment.” Haldir stopped in his step at Éomer's voice and turned towards the Man who was but a step behind him.

“We will not be able to do this in the next days.” the Rohirrim said quietly, cupping Haldir's face and pulling him close to kiss him slowly and thoroughly. The Elf let himself lean into the touch, enjoying the feeling of the Man's lips on his and his tongue caressing the inside of his mouth. He had not expected the tenderness Éomer showed him on some occasions when he had first approached the Man, but he found himself to like this gentle side of the warrior.

Éomer slowly released him and Haldir reluctantly pulled back. It was truly not the right time for this kind of pleasure, even though he would have liked it to be. They had to concentrate on the task at hand, however, the war for Gondor and Middle Earth were about to begin.

The next days were spend mostly on horseback. They rode hard and only rested long after dark had set in. On the second day, King Theoden decided to ride through the night after the scouts had reported that the White City was under siege. Truthful to Éomer's prediction, Haldir saw little of the Man during the ride to Minas Tirith. There was no privacy when they set camp for the night and during the days Haldir rode with his Elven warriors while Éomer led the Rohirrim Riders that were under his command. They could only speak for some minutes here or there, but the surrounding warriors kept them from any touch.

When they arrived on the planes of the Pelennor Fields that surrounded Minas Tirith, Haldir took a deep breath at the sight of the massive army of evil that had gathered around the White City. It reminded him strongly of Helm's Deep, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. This was going to be a very hard battle, his experience told him. They had to defeat Sauron's army, or the war for Middle Earth was lost.

The Rohirric horns let their sound travel over the planes and announced the help that Gondor was in dire need of. Haldir felt the Merod dance nervously under him, the horse was as much feeling the upcoming war as its rider. Haldir crossed in front of his Elves who were patiently sitting on the horses the Rohirrim had provided for them, listening to Haldir's commands. The thrill of battle started to pulsate in his veins and Haldir could see it in Éomer's eyes as well when they met to form the lead of their troops.

“For Rohan!” King Theoden called and Haldir, Éomer and the other marshals began to ride with him towards the army of Orcs, Uruk-Hai and whatever evil creatures tried to invade Minas Tirith. Behind them they could feel the men following them by the vibration caused by thousands of hoofs on the ground. They took up speed, gaining momentum to crush into the enemy lines, and galloped through the Orcs, riding them down with their sheer mass. Haldir felt the rush of excitement that always filled him in battle and that made his senses sharper, his reactions faster and his concentration perfect. His arrows hit enemy after enemy, then his sword met flesh, cut through throats and limbs.

Haldir lost his sense of time, as he always did in battle, he just lived from one moment to the next, from one killed Orc to the next. He felt light headed when he noticed the retreat of the evil forces, thinking that it had been too easy and too fast a victory. It was then that he saw what the Rohirrim warriors were staring at, the shapes of a row of oliphaunts approaching at full speed, the sound of them still remote but easily audible for sharp Elven ears. He felt a shiver running down his back that was caused as much by terror as by anticipation. Haldir let Merod cross in front of his warriors, screaming commands to reform the line, same as the other commanders did next to him. Then they rode forwards, galloped right towards the massive animals with their deadly tusks and feet.

The first contact with the oliphaunts cost many men, the archers on top of the colossal animals adding to the losses with their well-aimed shots. Haldir let Merod ride on his own accord and fired arrow after arrow at the top of the oliphants, trying to take out the persons guiding the animals to make them headless. Éomer seemed to have had the same idea, Haldir noticed when he saw the Man throwing a spear at a guide, hitting him and letting one oliphaunt run into another. The Elf laughed satisfied, two of those horrible beast less were a good result for one spear.

Haldir continued shooting until he ran out of arrows, then he took up his two swords, cutting through whatever evil came in front of them. It was then that he saw the Hobbit, held by an Uruk-Hai, but fighting him determinedly. Haldir jumped off Merod and ran over to the Hobbit, letting his blades bite through the Uruk-Hai's back. The creature released the Hobbit and he jumped free, looking up to his unexpected helper. Haldir recognised Merry even with his helmet and nodded to him before slaying the next approaching Orc. The Hobbit joined the fight and Haldir noticed approvingly that the halfling was not at all untalented with his small sword. He had been right, Hobbits were sturdy.

Fighting one enemy after the other, Haldir had the feeling there was no end to the evil forces. He had lost sight of the Hobbit at some point, concentrating on killing as many Orcs as possible, when a large Uruk-Hai ran towards him, screaming and swinging his sword. Haldir avoided the blade, ducked, came up again and lashed out at the enemy with his own swords. He hit the creature on its left side, but it was fast. Haldir just felt the blade scratch his left arm and tumbled a bit while trying to get out of the way of the blow when he heard the sound of metal against metal right behind his back, far to close for his liking. A quick gaze out of the corner of the eye showed him that Éomer had blocked a stroke aimed at Haldir's back that probably would have been deadly. There was no time to muse, though, as the Uruk-Hai in front of the Elf attacked again. It took Haldir a few well aimed blows to take him out, but the next was already approaching.

In his back, he heard the Man defending himself and was for a split second surprised at the ease with which the they fell into fighting together. Backs turned to each other, they kept close while attacking the approaching Orcs and covered each other's back. It was the first time they really fought together, but there were no words needed, they just seemed to act in perfect sync. It was a connection Haldir had so far only experienced with his brothers, and he had been fighting together with them for millennia. He had never expected to find it with a Man.

They stayed close, both realising how effective they were together, and continued to fight the army of evil creatures. There was not a second to catch their breath, but Haldir was high on the excitement of battle and felt neither pain nor weariness. He had not the faintest idea how long the battle had been going on at that point, but it was not important. The only things that counted was the feeling of his blade cutting through the evil forces and the knowledge of Éomer in his back.

At one point, when Haldir turned to face the next Orc, none came. He looked around, let his eyes wander over the battlefield and assessed the situation. There were Men and Elves standing, slaying the last Orcs, but the power of the evil forces seemed to be broken. Haldir could make out a greenish glow he identified as the Dead Men of Dunharrow that could only be summoned by the true king of Gondor. He felt himself smile. Aragorn had come to their aid in the right moment.

Haldir relaxed his posture a little bit, standing up straight to his full hight. The swords were still in his hands, ready to come to action in case of an attack. He turned slowly towards the Man behind him whose posture gradually relaxed as well, despite him still being alert. Not long afterwards they were walking the field, looking for survivors and killing the Orcs that were still alive, just as they had done at Helm's Deep. Haldir was relieved to see the Hobbit, Mithrandir, Aragorn, Legolas and even the Dwarf alive and well while they slowly walked the field. A defeated silence had settled over the battlefield, the kind of silence that nearly made you shiver.

When Haldir heard a scream so filled with agony that he hardly recognised Éomer's voice, he spun around just in time to see the Man let go of his sword and his helmet and fall to his knees to cradle somebody in his arms. Pure anguish was written on his face and it took Haldir a moment to realise that the person in his arms was his sister before Éomer let off a second cry that made Haldir's blood freeze. He felt unable to move for a few seconds before he broke his paralysis and started to run towards the Man. Aragorn had already reached him and seemed to talk to him and succeeded to get Éomer to stand up, his sister still cradled in his arms.

“She is alive, Éomer. We need to get her to Minas Tirith.” Aragorn's voice was calm, but firm and urgent. “Now, Éomer. Get a horse and follow me to the healers.”

The Rohirrim nodded, he seemed to have gotten a grip on his emotions, enough at least to do what was necessary. Haldir could see the raw pain in his eyes, though, and wished he could do something to help the Man. All he could do was to summon two horses from another Rohirrim not to far away from them and look the Man straight in the eyes when he offered to hold Éowyn until the Rohirrim had mounted one of the horses. The Man hesitated only a split second, then trusted him with his precious load while he got on the horse.

Haldir looked into the deadly pale face of the Lady of Rohan when he held her light weight in his arms and felt his heart tighten. He had seen the love and deep care the siblings held for each other and knew how much she meant to Éomer. He raised his gaze to find the Man seated and lifted Éowyn into his arms. The Rohirrim nodded slightly to let Haldir know he appreciated his help, little as it was. Then he set off before Haldir could mount the second horse and followed Aragorn who was already in a straight gallop towards the White City. Within seconds, Haldir joined the Rohirrim on the way to the healers.

The journey did not take long, after a short while they entered the city and rode through the streets towards the top. When they stopped their horses next to Aragorn's, a young boy waited for them with orders to lead them to the makeshift bed that Aragorn prepared for the injured Lady in the House of Healing. Éomer set his sister very carefully onto the linen and stepped aside to give Aragorn the space he needed to work. He perched himself onto a little box that stood next to the bed and kept his worried glance focussed on his sister.

Feeling utterly helpless, Haldir just stood behind the Man and watched Aragorn trying his best to cure the Lady of Rohan from the evil that had infected her. He treated her with Athelas, the herb that, when used by the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor, had so immense healing powers that it should help the Lady. Haldir could read pain, worry and fear in Éomer's posture and a look on his face proved him right. His hands were clenched into fists and he seemed to be solely focussed on his sister while his worry was eating him alive. In an attempt to convey support and a measure of comfort, Haldir put his hand on Éomer's shoulder and squeezed slightly. First he thought the Man had not noticed it, but then he felt Éomer's hand slowly closing over his and holding on for dear life.

When Aragorn tended to the Lady's injuries, Gandalf came over to them and caught Haldir's eyes, giving him a very worried glance that told the Elf that more bad news were to come. The wizard stopped next to Éomer and put his hand on the Man's free shoulder. Éomer turned towards the wizard.

“I am very sorry, Éomer. We found your uncle on the battlefield.” Gandalf's voice was gentle but firm, his eyes showing that he understood Éomer's pain very well.

Haldir felt a barely contained tremor go through his lover's body. The Rohirrim closed his eyes and an expression of pain crossed his features and the grip on Haldir's hand tightened considerably. Haldir returned the grasp, then he saw Éomer take a deep breath as if to steady himself and he opened his eyes to look at the wizard.

“What happened?” Éomer's voice was astonishingly firm, but Haldir felt the little shaking of the Man's hand over his.

“He was crushed under Snowmane. Several soldiers told us he was attacked by the Nazgul of the Witch King.” Gandalf nodded towards the Lady who still lay motionless on the sickbed. “It was your sister who defended your uncle. She challenged the Witch King over his life. She killed the Evil Lord with the help of Merry.”

Haldir gasped silently as he realised what that meant. “'No living Man can kill him'. But a woman and a Hobbit are no Men, they were the part of the few ones on that battlefield who could defeat the Evil Lord.”

The expression on Éomer's face was one of pure astonishment, then it changed to pride and he looked down onto his sister, eyes filled with love and concern. “There is more to her than meets the eye.”

“Aye.” Gandalf smiled. “But I am certain you knew that already.”

More hours had past when the Lady finally started to move slightly, when her breathing changed and she slowly opened the eyes. Haldir felt Éomer tense before he bend forward to move into his sister's range of vision. She seemed to be dazed and sleepy, but she focussed first on Aragorn who was bent over her, than she seemed to feel her brother slowly caress her face and gave him a weak smile.

“Do not worry, Éowyn, you are safe. The battle was won.” Haldir heard the slight shaking in Éomer's voice and let his hand reassuringly caress the Man's neck under the thick blonde hair. Lady Éowyn seemed to be soothed by the words and the sound of her brother's voice and closed her eyes again.

“She will get better, Éomer, she just needs much rest.” Aragorn said and sat back, his posture speaking of relief. “She will sleep now and that is the best healing she can have at the moment. She is strong and will overcome her injuries.”

Haldir heard Éomer let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Aragorn. Thank you that you saved her.”

Aragorn showed an small smile. “You should thank her. She saved us when she defeated the Witch King.”

“I will.” The Rohirrim's voice sounded sincere. “And then I will tear her off a strip for going into battle without anybody in her back.”

“Oh, she had somebody in her back.” Haldir remarked. “The Hobbit Merry was with her. And I think they fought well, after all they defeated the Witch King who could not be killed by any Man, but by a Hobbit and a woman. Maybe it was their destiny, Éomer.”

The Man was silent for a moment, obviously thinking about what he had just heard. “Aye, maybe it was.”

“Get some rest yourself, Éomer.” Aragorn said insistently. “There is nothing you can do here for your sister now, but to take care of your own wounds.”

“I know.” Haldir watched the Man bend forwards and kiss his sister gently on the forehead. After that Éomer rose, looking at his sister a last time and turned to leave. Haldir followed him closely on the way to find Mithrandir who had taken over the organisation of Minas Tirith as long as nobody else was up to it. The wizard appointed them a room in the mostly unharmed King's House to tend to their wounds and rest and had a servant boy show them the way.

The moment the door closed Haldir felt himself being pressed against the wall by Éomer's whole body, then hungry and desperate lips were on his and kissed him hard and demandingly. This was yet another side of the Man, he realised, the passion born of despair, that he only showed to those he trusted. Haldir felt his body react to the assault on his senses, he actually enjoyed Éomer's rough passion, a trait Elves rarely to never showed. He understood why Éomer reacted like this, the Man wanted to reassure himself of Haldir's well-being, of life in general. He needed a way to let off stem and Haldir happened to be there and to be trusted enough that Éomer dared to let down his guard.

Haldir opened to his lover, leaning into the touch of the hands and letting his fingers loose the fastenings of Éomer's shoulder protection and joining the Man's attempts to free them both from their bloodstained armours. He understood Éomer's urge to feel alive, found himself needing to touch the Man as badly as the Rohirrim needed to touch him. He pulled off his lover's chain mail and threw it carelessly aside before grabbing a handful of Éomer's hair and drawing him into a hard kiss. The Man's hands wandered over his body, tearing bloody fabric and freeing skin wherever they could, his lips always on Haldir's, tongues battling.

There was no gentleness in their touch but raw need. Haldir did not feel the pain from all the little cuts and bruises he had gotten during battle and instinctively knew his lover did not feel his own pain either. There would be a time later to tend to their physical injuries, now it was necessary to take care of their emotional needs. Haldir let out a moan when he felt Éomer bite along his jaw and then down his neck, definitely leaving marks, but Haldir did not care. He pushed his hands under the Man's tunic and removed it to have full access to the skin underneath. He noticed his lover's fingers had found the fastening of his trousers and had begun to open them, one hand teasingly cupping the obvious bulge under the fabric and giving it a slight massage. Haldir felt a deep throaty moan escape his mouth, the Man really knew what he was doing.

“I want you.” Haldir felt a shiver of pleasant anticipation run down his spine when he heard his lover speak those words with a deep, rough voice full of desire. “Will you let me?”

“Aye, meleth.” Not surprised his own voice was equally husky, Haldir arched back into the hand that had slipped into his trousers and cupped his backside. A second hand joined it and Haldir felt himself being lifted off the ground and he immediately slung his legs around his lover's waist, hands on his shoulders and lips seeking Éomer's. The Man carried him over to the bed at the other side of the room, constantly kissing him and massaging his buttocks.

Éomer let him down onto the bad and crawled on top of him, arms to each side of his head. Haldir decided it was time for some initiative of his own and undid the fastening of his lover's trousers and pulled the fabric down so he could settle his hand on the tempting backside underneath. Éomer let out a breathy moan and pushed his groin against Haldir's, proving that the excitement was mutual. Without much care the Man stripped Haldir and himself off their trousers and pushed the garments off the bed.

Haldir opened his legs, inviting his lover to settle in between. Éomer's hand found his erection and wrapped around it in a firm grip that made Haldir groan deep in his throat and his hips buckled. The Elf used his hands on the backside of his lover to press him down on him and indicate what he wanted. Éomer understood without a word, spit in his hand and let it slide down to prepare the Elf. His finger circled the hole, trying it and carefully entering. More spit was added and the fingers explored the interior of the Elf, finding what they were looking for when Haldir gasped aloud and threw his head back in pleasure. Éomer added another finger, obviously taking care to properly stretch his lover despite his own urge.

“Will this be enough?” Éomer's voice was breathy and Haldir moaned when the skilled fingers found that spot again.

“Aye, meleth. Do not worry.” Haldir was proud he was still able to form a coherent sentence. He only wanted to have his lover inside him, the urge so strong he did not really care if he hurt afterwards.

Éomer pulled his fingers back and positioned himself at his lover's entry. For a moment, the Man stilled and his eyes held Haldir's, wordlessly asking if he was ready. Haldir only nodded and pushed against him, making his desire clear. Éomer entered his lover in one long thrust, passionate, but still controlled enough to not hurt. He started thrusting, and when Haldir let out a gasp because Éomer had hit this certain spot, the Man kept the angle and rhythmically slid in and out of his lover. Haldir thrust back against him, arching his back and letting out breathy gasps, his fingers digging into his lover's shoulders.

They did not last long. When Éomer's hand wrapped around his throbbing erection, Haldir could not hold back any longer and felt completion hit him with all force. He heard himself groan his lover's name and clasp down around him and felt Éomer spill his seed inside him. With a hoarse moan the Man broke down over him, covering him with his whole body, breathing as heavily as Haldir himself. The Elf slid his arms around the back of his lover and tried to regain his breath.

After a moment, Éomer rolled off of him to lie beside him on his back and pulled Haldir close until the Elf lay alongside his body and had his head pillowed on the Man's shoulder. His fingers played with the long silvery strands and caressed his face and Haldir leaned into the touch.

“How are you?” the Elf asked gently, letting his fingers draw meaningless patterns through the chest hair that he found so fascinating. For some time, Éomer remained silent, then he let out a shuddering breath. He understood what the Elf had really asked.

“My uncle is dead. My sister lies in the House of Healing and her fate is not yet certain. Many of my men fell in battle.” The Man paused to take another breath. “I feel lost, but at the same time I know I have no time to grieve for I have to lead my people and show the strength they need.”

“You have that strength, meleth.” Haldir believed every word he said. He had not known this Man for long, but he had seen a character full of love for his people, led by passion as well as discipline and strength of mind.

“I am not so sure. I was never meant to rule Rohan. I was not prepared for this duty.” Éomer's voice was very quiet when he admitted his doubts, words he would probably never have said aloud to anybody else, apart for Lady Éowyn maybe.

“You are a natural leader, Éomer. Your Men follow you because they see and trust in your strength. Your people will do the same.”

“But I could not even protect my own sister.” The Man's voice was charged with guilt and self-reproach.

“Gods! She could have died as well, Haldir!” The Elf felt his heart ache at the broken sound of his lover's voice.

“But she did not.” Haldir gave his voice a reassuring sound. “She was meant to be on that battlefield, Éomer. You could not have prevented that.”

“Maybe.” The Man was silent for several minutes, just holding Haldir in his arms and slowly caressing his back.

“Thank you.” Haldir heard his lover murmur into his hair after a while.

“What for?”

“That you were there.” Éomer's voice was quiet and sincere. “You kept me sane when Éowyn lay like dead on that sickbed.”

“You are most welcome, meleth.” Haldir replied and kissed the skin under his lips. Éomer's hold on him tightened a little bit.

“And that you let me do that.” Now his voice sounded like he was embarrassed.

Haldir chuckled, he knew exactly what his lover referred to. “You passion is a rather fascinating trait, meleth.”

“I did not hurt you, did I?” The Man's voice was suddenly coloured with worry and concern. It made Haldir smile.

“No. Do not worry, I am very well able to prevent that from happening.” It was the truth, they both knew Haldir was superior in physical strength and it would be easy for him to stop Éomer at any point. It was his choice not to do so, his kind of giving in to his lover.

“Good.” Éomer sounded relieved. “Still, I will be more considerate next time.”

“I like your raw passion, meleth.” Haldir said quietly, raised his head and gently bit his lover's neck. “And I am not fragile, I can take your roughness and I enjoy it.”

Now it was Éomer who chuckled. “I got myself a naughty Elf, then.”

Haldir could not keep himself from laughing out aloud. It had been a long time since he had laughed like this and he enjoyed it deeply. “So it would seem.”

***

A knock at the door made Éomer groan. When it happened again, he untangled himself from Haldir, got up and put on his trousers before he answered the door. A young Gondorian soldier stood in the corridor.

“You are awaited in the Tower Hall, Lord Éomer.” the young man said. “I was told to ask you to pass this message on to Captain Haldir of the Elven Archers as well.”

“I will do so. Thank you.” Éomer answered and the soldier bowed before he disappeared into the corridor. Éomer closed the door and turned towards the bed. Haldir lay spread between the sheets, hair flowing over the pillow in a silvery mass, glowing where the morning sun touched it. His Elf was a magnificent creature, the Man thought with a fond smile, he was beautiful beyond measure, strong and fierce. Once you got to know him, it was easy to look behind his protective arrogant outer shell and to see how caring, loyal and compassionate he was.

“What are you thinking about?” the Elf asked. Éomer found the blue eyes fixed onto him and felt a blush rise into his cheeks.

“That must have been a very interesting thought.” A teasing smile hovered over the Elf's lips.

“We were asked to come to the Tower Hall.” Éomer averted his eyes and started to look for his clothes. He knew Haldir guessed what he had thought about when he heard the Elf laugh gently behind him.

“We should get dressed, then.” the Elf said, got out of the bed and gathered the garments that were wildly spread all over the room. They had not really paid any attention to undressing yesterday evening, Éomer mused while putting on his boots. When Haldir stepped up behind, wrapped one arm around his waist and held a shirt in front of the Man's eyes, Éomer looked at the one in his hands and found it to be Haldir's.

“It could lead to wild suspicions if we arrive at the Tower Hall in each other's clothes.” Haldir whispered into his ear and Éomer could hear the teasing smile in his voice.

“Indeed, it might.” Éomer could not help laughing gently when he took his shirt from Haldir and returned the Elf's.

Haldir placed a kiss in his neck before he let go and finished dressing. This small gesture made goosebumps spread all over Éomer's skin. It was one of those small things you did when you deeply cared about somebody. While he dressed, the Rohirrim thought about what that meant about this thing between him and the Elf. He had know from the beginning that it was not a one night thing, but now he was not sure if he had the right to call it what he thought it might be.

“Are you ready to leave?” Haldir stood by the door, sheathing his swords.

“Aye.” Éomer closed the buckle of his sword belt and walked over to the door. Instinct as well as a need he did not want to acknowledge made him lean over to brush a gentle kiss over the Elf's lips. When he pulled back, he saw surprise in Haldir's eyes, but it was the happy little smile that convinced Éomer he had done the right thing.

“Let us go, meleth.” Haldir opened the door and they left the room and walked over to the Tower of Ecthelion. When they entered the Tower Hall, Gandalf and Aragorn were already waiting. Shortly after Éomer and Haldir had arrived, Legolas and Gimli joined them and the Dwarf closed the doors behind him.

Éomer stood next to Haldir and listened to what Aragorn suggested they should do. Walking to the Black Gates was as good as a death sentence for their men, he knew that as well as any other commander in this room. But if they stayed here, in the relative safety of the city, it would only be an illusion of safety, because the forces of Mordor would come, sooner or later. The only real solution was for Frodo to destroy the Ring, and if dying in a distraction manoeuvre meant they could give him the opportunity to do so, then it was the only route they could take.

When they left the Tower Hall, Éomer was deep in thoughts. He did not like to send his Men to certain death right after they had just survived the battle of the day before, but he saw the necessity. They would leave tomorrow early in the morning for the journey to the Black Gates would take about a week and they had to arrive as quickly as possible. The Hobbit was likely to need their diversion.

“I will go visit my sister.” Éomer said when they arrived at the House of Healing.

“Wish her all the best from my part.” Haldir said and turned towards the gate. “I will go to my Elves and organise what is left of my troops.”

Éomer nodded and watched the Elf disappear through the gate before he entered the gardens that surrounded the House of Healing. The rooms were filled with the sick and injured, many healers worked at the sickbeds and hasted from one spot to the next. It did not take him long to find his sister who still lay at the same place as last night, obviously peacefully asleep. Éomer sat down next to her and watched her for a while before he took her hand into his.

Éowyn moved slightly under the blanket and then opened her eyes. He smiled at her and caressed her cheek. “How are you, little one?”

She returned the smile. “You have not called me such since we left childhood.”

“I know. But you earned the title again.” He continued to touch her cheek to let her know he was not really angry.

“I am sorry I worried you.” his sister said after a moment, eyes sincere.

Éomer sighted. “You scared me to death, Éowyn. I never expected to find you lying motionless on the battlefield.”

“I can only apologise for the pain I caused you, but not for what I did. I would do it every time again.” Her voice was quiet, but firm.

“I know.” Éomer looked at her. “I understand you, even though I cannot say I am happy about it.”

She held his gaze. “That will be enough for me.”

“I only want you to become better.” He smiled teasingly. “You are my little one, after all.”

A smile appeared on her face that made Éomer feel better. “Then I will do everything to heal.”

“Good.” Éomer saw her stifle a yawn and decided it was time to let her go back to sleep.

In the same moment a healer approached them. “I beg your pardon, my Lord, but your sister needs to rest. You can visit her later today again.”

Éomer nodded to the middle aged man and patted Éowyn's hair. “Rest well, little one. I come by later again.”

She gave him a tired, but happy smile and he turned to leave. The rest of the day was spend in organising the Rohirric forces and repair whatever weapon and armour needed it. One day was a very short time to prepare a seven days journey to a battle that was most likely certain death. Éomer ran from one place to the other, tried to organise and motivate his men at the same time. The loss of their King was not the best precondition to keep up their spirit and Éomer refused to be called King of Rohan as long as his uncle was still warm and he himself had not been properly proclaimed. So he told Háma who just nodded in silent understanding and took care of the men.

At the end of the day, Éomer felt physically and emotionally exhausted, but also realised that Haldir had been right with what he had said last night. It was obvious that the men would follow Éomer into battle, they respected his word and followed his lead. Éomer had no time to think about his new position, he just did what he had done before and took the new responsibility as an inevitable change.

But when, long after dark, he entered the room he shared with Haldir, he felt all the discipline that had kept him going during the day fall away. He had not even managed to eat a proper dinner, he had just shared some bread and wine with his men sitting at a fire before running off to the next task at hands. With slow steps he carried himself over to the bed that stood empty in the corner, sat down and removed his boots and his outer tunic. He wanted to wait for his lover to come back, but the moment his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep.

When he heard the door open, he was back to full alert within a split second, but the moment his senses realised it was Haldir who had entered the room, he relaxed and slid back into sleep. He just felt how the Elf came into bed and cuddled up behind him, one arm wrapping loosely around the Man's waist. Content to have his lover near, Éomer snuggled closer and let sleep take him again.

When the morning came, he was woken by the gentle voice of Haldir and a soft touch to his face. “Wake up, meleth.”

Éomer fought his way out of sleep, it was so much harder to wake up than normal and that alone told him how exhausted he had been. But once he had opened his eyes, he stretched and his mind was fully awake. “Morning.”

“Not yet.” Haldir gave him a small kiss on the lips. “It is still some time to sunrise, but we need to ready our troops.”

“Will there ever be a quiet morning in bed with all time to spend as we wish?” Éomer asked with a sigh when he followed his lover's example and got up.

Haldir had his back turned to him and seemed pause for a moment, but his voice was casual when he spoke. “Do you want there to be?”

Instinct told Éomer this was not a simple question, so he walked up behind the Elf and pressed a lingering kiss to his bare shoulder. “I wish for it.”

Haldir leaned back against him. “Then we will have one.”

“I am looking forward to it.” With another brush of lips against the Elf's soft skin, Éomer let go and started to dress and put on his armour. Haldir did the same, they were both warriors to the core and knew what needed to be done this morning before they would ride. Once they had all their weapons sheathed and all their things gathered up, Haldir stole a kiss before they left the room and their privacy. The journey would be long and hard, there would be no time for quiet moments together and they both knew it.

They left the building and overlooked the scene in front of them. The courtyard was filled with horses and riders, some foot soldiers and servants in between, everybody preparing the ride. Éomer and Haldir separated to take care of their own preparations and of their forces. When the sun rose over the planes, the Host of the West was ready to leave for the Black Gates.

“You can ride with me, Master Hobbit.” Éomer said with a bow when he saw Merry stand in the courtyard next to his friend Pippin who was about to join Gandalf on Shadowfax. “If you are inclined to accept me in my sister's stead.”

Éomer knew he owed the Hobbit for giving his sister the possibility to kill the Witch King. Haldir was right, there had been no way to keep Éowyn out of that battle, and it was only thanks to the Hobbit and his courage that she was still alive.

Merry seemed to be very surprised. He looked up at the Man, then returned the bow. “I gratefully accept, my Lord Éomer.”

“I owe you for my sister's life, Master Hobbit.” the Rohirrim said firmly. “It is me who is grateful to you.”

The Hobbit flushed. “Lady Éowyn is very courageous and I owe her more than I can ever repay. It was my honour to do what ever I could to serve her and Rohan.”

Éomer would not admit it, but he was touched by the honest and sincere admiration the Hobbit showed for his sister. He gave Merry a small nod to acknowledge his words, then he mounted Firefoot and helped the Hobbit up to sit behind him. Then he joined Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Gandalf and Haldir who were about to ride through the city and out onto the Pelennor Fields. With every metre they rode, more and more riders and foot soldiers joined them, forming disciplined rows and following the leaders.

The next days were spent in travelling, only disrupted by the night camps that were always broken again before sunrise. There was a certain atmosphere of urgency over the whole forces, it seemed as if everybody was aware of the importance and of the finality of this march. Éomer could not help himself to feel an icy shiver run down his spine when they finally came into sight of the massive structure of the Black Gate. It was not here that the fate of Middle Earth would be decided, but their fate. He only hoped their sacrifice would give the other two Hobbits the time they needed to complete their task.

They let their forces take position, a joined army of Gondor, Rohan and Lothlorien. When nothing happened, no reaction at all, Éomer felt a mix of nervousness and anger. He and the other leaders followed Aragorn when he rode towards the gate and challenged the Black Lord. The horses danced nervously and Éomer found himself hating the creaky sound the gate made when it was opened, it was a sound that he had the impression to feel straight in his bones.

The creature that rode out of the crack that had formed between the two massive wings of the gate was not any less loathsome. It was not difficult to identify the rider as the Mouth of Sauron, even though Éomer had only heard stories about him, but never seen him. The hands of the Hobbit who sat behind him on Firefoot tightened on his sides and the Man could feel the halfling's fear and disgust at the creature.

With stony silence Éomer listened to the despiteful words the creature had as an answer to Gandalf's demands. When it pulled out the chain mail and all the other leaders as well as the two Hobbits reacted to it with despair and pain, it was clear to the Rohirrim it must have been in the possession of the Hobbits who were inside Mordor. He did not want to believe the halflings were caught, that this would be the end of the Middle Earth he knew. But that even the always restrained and wise Gandalf showed signs of guilt and despair made him doubt.

It was then that Aragorn rode up next to the creature, all his disdain and hate plain in his face and posture. With a single blow from the sword the creature had just mocked, he beheaded the evil.

“I do not believe it! I will not!” There was a strength and conviction in Aragorn's voice and his face that made Éomer believe him.

Then the gates opened wider and showed the forces of Sauron marching towards them. The leaders pulled back to their troops and Éomer could feel how the Men wanted to throw their weapons and run, how much they feared the battle they knew they could not win. Again it was Aragorn who pulled them together and gave them the strength to draw their swords for this last battle.

The forces of Mordor outnumbered their army by several thousands and spread quickly to surround them in a circle that was drawn smaller and smaller. Everybody watched the enemy in silent anticipation, the certainty of death giving them the strength of those who had nothing to loose. When Aragorn stepped forwards and then ran against the superior enemy, the army of Gondorians, Rohirrim and Elves followed him with all power they had.

It was when the Eagles came into sight through the clouds, lunging at the Nazgul that were about to attack, that Éomer was certain that this was the final battle for Middle Earth.

***

Aragorn felt for the first time in ages free to breath when he saw the tower fall and the earth swallow the evil forces. It was over, it was done, the evil was defeated. He felt it more than he knew it, but one look into Gandalf's face told him it was true.

“No!” The scream filled with fear and pain made him turn. He saw Éomer run, than stop abruptly and fall to his knees. “Haldir!”

Now Aragorn noticed the bright blond hair of the person Éomer pulled into his arms. The scene reminded him intensely of the moment after the battle of the Pelennor Fields when the Rohirrim had found his sister and thought her dead. This time, though, Éowyn was safely at Minas Tirith and the person to trigger Éomer's panic was the captain of the Elven archers.

“No, No, No, No, No!” Aragorn heard the Rohirrim repeat constantly and saw him brush his hand over the long blond hair that was now filthy with Orc blood and dirt. Haldir's eyes were closed and he lay limb in the Man's Arms when Aragorn reached them. He fell to his knees and began a quick check of the Elf's injuries. He did not feel like loosing a friend on the verge of winning the war. Not now.

“Éomer, you must let go of him.” Aragorn looked up when his words did not earn the reaction he had asked for. Instead, the other man held the Elf closer in a rather protective gesture.

“Éomer! I need to check him for injuries!” Aragorn gave his voice deliberately a more urgent tone than he would normally have used to assure that it reached the other man. After a moment, the Rohirrim nodded and let Aragorn take over.

“He has a nasty gash on his back.” the future king of Gondor remarked after some minutes. “I think he is unconscious due to the blood loss. We need to bring him to the camp and clean and bandage his wounds.”

“I will bring him.” Éomer's voice sounded amazingly firm and Aragorn understood that the other man would not let go of Haldir, so he nodded in acceptance.

“Let us ride. I do not want to loose any time to tend to him.” Aragorn got up and waited to see the new king of Rohan carefully lift the Elf and cradle him in his arms. His face was unguarded for a split second, enough for Aragorn to read worry as well as deep tenderness. He suppressed a sigh. The Rohirrim was already in far deeper than he himself realised. This would become complicated, Aragorn thought when he turned to his horse. He was certain Éomer would follow him, so he just rode as fast as his horse could for the encampment to set up a sickbed and get his herbs before the Rohirrim and Haldir would arrive.

When Éomer entered the tent where the sick were taken care of, Aragorn had already set up everything he needed. “Lay him in the bed, but on his stomach. I need to get access to his back.”

The Man silently obeyed and settled the Elf carefully onto he sheets. He helped Aragorn to loose the fastenings of the armour and removed the protective shields. Aragorn cut off the remains of the blood-stained tunics and lay open the gash that ran over Haldir's back. He carefully cleaned the wound and assessed the amount of damage while washing off the blood.

“How bad is it?” It was easy for Aragorn to hear the pure fear and deep worry in the other man's voice even without looking at his face where it was plainly written.

“Bad. But he is an Elf and his healing ability is far better than a Man's.” Aragorn took a needle and a thread and began to sew the skin together. He was glad the Elf was unconscious and did not feel the pain of the procedure. “He will need time to recover, though.”

“But he will recover?” Aragorn raised his gaze for a moment and found Éomer stare at Haldir with a deeply worried expression on his face.

Aragorn turned back to sewing. “If he survives the night, the chances are good.”

“I will stay with him.” The tone of the other man's voice left no space for discussion.

“I know.” Aragorn answered simply and finished sewing the wound. Then he washed the remaining blood away and applied a bandage with a mix of healing herbs. When he had finished on the main injury, Aragorn took care of the several small cuts and bruises of the Elf before he turned to the Man.

“Let me take care of your own wounds, Éomer.”

The Rohirrim looked up from where he had been staring at the Elf. “I am fine.”

Aragorn sighted impatiently. “You do him no good if your injuries remain untended. So remove your armour, you do not need it in here anyway, and let me bandage your wounds.”

The Rohirim seemed to react to the tone as much as to the logic and finally opened the fastenings of his armour and put it aside, then removed the chain mail. Aragorn found only several cuts that run deeper than he liked, but nothing serious when he checked the other man. He carefully bandaged the wounds, used some herbs where he deemed them helpful and then left the Rohirrim alone to take care of the other injured who just started to arrive from the Black Gates.

When he returned to his Elven patient some hours later, he found Éomer sitting next to the sickbed, one hand holding the Elf's, the other unconsciously playing with a strand of Haldir's hair, face still worried. Aragorn watched them for a while and wondered how deep their connection ran. Finally, he turned to find a place where he could get some sleep, tomorrow they would start the long journey back to Minas Tirith.

It was shortly before sunrise when Aragorn entered the tent that sheltered the injured. He walked through the lines of makeshift beds and checked wounds and remade bandages until he arrived at Haldir's bed. Éomer had fallen asleep sometime during the night, his head pillowed on the edge of the bed, his hand still firmly holding the Elf's. With a gentle shake to the Rohirrim's shoulder, Aragorn woke him up and sent him outside to get something to eat and prepare his horse for the ride, promising him to not leave Haldir's side until he returned. While the Rohirrim was gone, Aragorn took care of the bandage, removed it and checked the back injury. He was worried to see that the flesh had not started healing, it meant something must be wrong and it would make the transport more difficult.

When Éomer came back, Aragorn told him about his plan to move Haldir to Minas Tirith on Firefoots back in front of the Rohirrim and explained him how he was to hold the Elf so his back injury would not get worse. The Rohirrim listened carefully and followed the instructions in all detail as Aragorn noticed over the next days. They rode all day, but they were slow due to several injured who were taken along. Aragorn watched Éomer take care of Haldir, how he washed the Elf's injuries carefully and learned to redo the bandages with the right herbs. That Haldir did not regain consciousness during their ride apart from some short delirious moments worried Aragorn, but he had already guessed that the blade that had caused the Elf's back wound had been poisoned and the course of healing only confirmed his speculation. Haldir was in a very deep healing sleep and maybe it was better that he did not wake and suffered the pain of the travel on horseback.

When Minas Tirith came into sight, Aragorn was overwhelmed by relief. He had been taking care of most of the injured for the last week and had not had any time to rest himself. Here he could transfer his responsibilities to the healers in the House of Healing. It was only his friend Haldir who he wanted to continue to take care of, so he had him settled into a private room in the King's House, and of course it was Éomer who accompanied the Elf.

Aragorn opened the bandages of the Elf's back. All his other wounds had long since healed and when he washed the herbs away, Aragorn found the gash had nearly closed and the poison appeared to have been defeated. The Elf breathed regularly and some colour had returned into his skin, all signs that he was going to be fine.

“He will heal. The poison left his body and the cut has nearly closed.” Aragorn stated with relief in his voice. How could he have enjoyed victory against the Evil Lord if it had cost his friend's life?

He heard Éomer let out a deep sigh. “Thank Gods.”

It was then that the Lady of Rohan came into the room, face set in an expression of firm determination that reminded Aragorn of her brother. She came over, gave the Rohirrim a hug and then started to talk to him. Aragorn retreated, he felt like it was not up to him to hear her words. She had been there for some time when her brother nodded tiredly and got up to leave the room. She watched him for a moment with a concerned expression, then she came over to Aragorn.

“How did you manage that?” the Man asked astonished. Nobody had been able to make Éomer depart from the Elf even for a moment.

“I have my ways.” Lady Éowyn replied with a secretive smile. “One of them was to promise him I would stay with Master Haldir.”

“I will leave you then, I have to look after my men.” Aragorn excused himself and left.

Later that day, around early evening, Aragorn came back into the Elf's sickroom and found his patient awake and talking to Lady Éowyn. Haldir seemed to be well, he sat in the bed and discussed the difference of Elven and Human swords with the Lady. Aragorn watched them with a smile before he cleared his throat to make his presence known.

“My friend, it is good to see you awake.”

Haldir gave him a small smile. “I have finally left my healing sleep, mellon. And I fell very well.”

“That is good to hear. We worried about you, for you were gone for nearly a week.” Aragorn walked over to the bed and looked over the Elf. He seemed to be quickly recovering.

“So the Lady told me. I am sorry I caused you any worry and trouble.” Haldir replied with a sincere expression on his face.

“Do not worry, my friend. We are all glad to see you back on your feet. Still, I would like to check your bandages to see how well you are recovering.”

“I will let you take care of his wounds then.” Lady Éowyn got up in one graceful motion and smiled to Haldir. “It was a pleasure to talk to you, Master Haldir. I will see you around in the next days, I hope.”

“The pleasure was mine, my Lady.” The Elf bowed his head. “And I will be well enough soon to take part in the normal dinner again.”

“I hope so. Get well soon.” With a smile she took her leave.

***

Aragorn made Haldir lie down on his stomach and began to remove the outer bandage. After a while, when the Elf remained silent, Aragorn made a guess. “You wonder where Éomer is.”

Haldir flinched a little, but did not say anything.

“He never left your side.” Aragorn remarked silently while he removed the last of Haldir's bandages. “He even set quarters next to you.”

Haldir frowned and watched his friend as if to find out if he was telling the truth. Knowing Aragorn, he was certain, though, that every word was indeed sincere. “He was not here when I woke up.”

“When it was certain that you were all right, his sister managed to drag him away to get him to bath and sleep himself for a few hours.” A small smile lingered around Aragorn's lips. “She had to fight with all means, though.”

Haldir felt himself smirk. Yes, he could believe that. He had just talked for over an hour with the Lady of Rohan and thought her strong in mind and body. She had proven herself in the battle of the Pelennor Fields and he knew she cared for her brother as deeply as he cared for her. She was aware when she had to be strict, especially when it concerned her stubborn brother. “She was probably the only person to be able to do it, though.”

Aragorn chuckled. “Aye, that is true.”

After a moment, the Man made a content sound. “Your injury looks good, it is nearly gone. I will pull the threads out, that might hurt, but you know that.”

“Indeed, I do.” Haldir said dryly, he had had so many wounds that had needed to be sewed that he had given up counting them.

Aragorn began to pull at one side of the thread and Haldir gritted his teeth at the pain that swept over the whole of his back. He did not let any sound escape, he was used to pain, and he had learned a long time ago that voicing it did not always help. It took the Man several minutes to extract the whole thread, but when he had finished, Haldir felt a cold wet cloth on his skin washing away the blood the must have oozed out when the thread was pulled out.

There was silence for some minutes, then Haldir heard the Man clear his throat. “What are you going to do about him?”

Haldir did not even pretend that he did not know what his friend was talking about. “What can I answer to that, my friend? There is nothing I can do.”

“What makes you think that?” Aragorn finished checking the skin for remaining traces of blood before he sat back on his heels watching the Elf.

“Things have changed, Estel.” Haldir said quietly. His voice sounded tired and defeated. “Who am I to claim a King of Men?”

“So you will let him leave.” Aragorn sounded disapproving.

“Aye, Estel. That is the only possible way.” Haldir did not want to explain himself when he knew that the course of action was obvious.

“And for the time being?”

Haldir gave him a sad smile. “I will enjoy the moments I am given with him as long as we are still here.”

Aragorn watched him with an undefinable gaze. Then he nodded and changed the topic. “I have to leave to take care of Frodo.”

Haldir remembered the little hobbit with the frightened eyes. “How is he?”

“As well as can be expected after what he went through.” Aragorn collected the old bandages and put them in a cloth bag. “He has some very good friends who will help him a lot to recover, though.”

“Greet him from my part.” Haldir said with a little bow. “We owe him more than we can even estimate.”

“Aye, we do.” Aragorn nodded and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Haldir lay back onto his belly and let his head rest on the pillow. So his Man had stayed at his side the whole time? He was well aware that there was more to it than Aragorn had told him. If his friend was able to tell that Haldir and Éomer were more to each other than friends, it meant that they had either been quite obvious or that the Rohirrim must have been so worried that his behaviour during Haldir's unconsciousness had clearly shown his feelings. Whatever it was, Haldir was even more certain now that Éomer might share the affection he had for the Rohirrim.

“You are awake!” Haldir turned at the voice of his lover behind him. He saw Éomer standing in the door, handle still in the hand, an expression on his face that was a mix of relief and honest joy and his voice reflected those feelings. Haldir let his gaze wander over the Man, he looked like he had washed, the strands of his hair hung in wet curls around his face. He must have gotten clean clothes as well and even though he seemed tired he looked like he had gotten some hours of sleep.

“How do you feel?” Éomer came into the room and closed the door behind him, then he came over to the bed and sat down on the edge.

“I am fine. Aragorn just removed the thread from the injury on my back and it is as good as healed.” Haldir enjoyed it when he felt the Man's hands brush over the skin on his back, carefully stroking the long silver hair aside so he could look at the injury.

“It is amazing, your back in nearly completely healed.” Éomer's voice was filled with awe. “It looked so bad not even three days ago.”

“Elves heal much faster than Men.” Haldir explained. He could see that his lover still wore several bandages.

“I know. Aragorn told me.” Éomer did not stop his caresses to Haldir's back and the Elf closed his eyes to simply enjoy the touch. It had been a long time since he had had a lover whom he trusted enough to simply welcome every touch without feeling any need to be alert. He could let go with Éomer and he took deep pleasure in this trust.

He felt Éomer bend over, first the wet curls touched his skin, then the Man's lips and then he heard him whisper: “It is so good to see you awake and well again.”

The words sent a shiver down Haldir's back. The rough voice was filled with emotions that were not expressed in words and would not be because they both knew there was no future. It did not keep them from trying to use the limited time they had together in the best way possible, though, and Éomer's fingers and lips told what his mouth would not say.

Slowly, the Man sat back up, but kept on stroking gently over the Elf's back. “Do you want something to eat? You need to get some nourishment to regain your strength.”

Haldir stretched and began to sit up. “Aye, I think it would be a good idea if I ate something. My stomach certainly asks for it.”

“I will have the servant bring some bread, cheese and a soup.” Éomer rose from the bed and walked to the door to catch a servant in the corridor. Some moments later he came back into the room and closed the door. “Some food will be brought in a while.”

Éomer stood by the door and appeared to be at loss of words. Haldir looked at him and gave him a smile. “Will you stay with me tonight, meleth?”

The Man slowly came over to the bed, he almost appeared hesitating. “Do you want me to?”

Haldir looked him straight into the eyes and replied steadily. “Aye, meleth. I would very much like that.”

A gentle smile appeared on Éomer's lips. “Then I will gladly do so.”

Haldir watched the Man sit down onto the edge of the bed and moved closer to him, letting his fingers find the wet curls and tangle into them. He gently pulled Éomer towards him into a soft kiss, trying to let the Man know he really wanted him to stay. Somehow it seemed important to make him understand he was not alone with these unexpected, strong feelings.

It was then that they heard the knock on the door and Éomer walked over to let the servant in. The young boy put a tray filled with half a loaf of bread, a goblet of wine and a bowl with soup and set it onto the wooden table. When the door had closed behind the boy, Éomer brought the bowl and the bread over to Haldir who sat on the bed.

“This smells like chicken soup. It should do you some good.” the Man said with a little smile. “Even though you look like you are mostly recovered.”

“I am.” Haldir returned the smile. “But it is still nice to have somebody care for me.”

“Do you not have somebody, like family or friends, who care for you?” The Man's voice sounded surprised.

“Of course I do. My two brothers guard the woods with me.” Haldir replied and thought with a fond smile of Rúmil and Orophin. “But Elves are rarely ill and wounds normally heal very quickly on their own. We do not often need to be taken care of.”

“You have two brothers?” There was curiosity in the Rohirrim's voice. “Were you always together?”

“Most of the time.” Haldir started to eat the soup, from time to time dipping pieces of bread into it. “Most Elves do not leave the Elven world. But I have always been fascinated by Men, so I left Lorien to learn about them and to achieve knowledge of the common tongue.”

Éomer was silent for some moments and Haldir looked at him, curious to see what the Man thought. To his surprise, he seemed to be embarrassed. “What is it, meleth?”

“May I ask you something, Haldir?” Éomer requested hesitantly.

“Of course.” There was hardly anything that made Éomer look embarrassed, and if it was something the Man wanted to know about him, it made Haldir very curious. Furthermore, he just loved it when Éomer said his name for he still used it so rarely.

“How old are you?” To give the Man credit, he looked the Elf straight into the eyes when he asked.

For a moment Haldir was surprised by the question. Age was not very important for Elves, time had a different value than it had for Men for it was basically unlimited. Still, over the years he had spent with Men, Haldir had come to understand the importance of age for a race that was very aware of their limited time on this world.

“You do not have to answer that question.” Éomer said when the Elf did not reply. “I am sorry if I offended you in any way...”

“Nay, meleth, do not worry.” Haldir interrupted Éomer's flustered speech with a little smile. “I was merely surprised. I do not often get asked such a question.”

“I had no right...”

Haldir set the empty bowl aside and used his free hand to caress Éomer's face. “Your question was no offence at all. Age just has far less importance for Elves, for we do not expect to die.”

“That is very different for Men.”

Haldir ate the last of the bread, then he put his arms around Éomer and pulled him back until the Man leaned against him. He was pleasantly surprised that the proud Rohirrim let himself be held without any resistance. “I know. I have spent enough time with Men to understand that time is very valuable when it it is limited.”

After a moment, Éomer let his head rest on Haldirs shoulder. “I cannot imagine it not to be limited. I have never felt different.”

“I understand that.” Haldir replied while letting his hand play with a drying curl of the wild blond hair. “For me, death is not foreign, for I am a warrior and I have known much death. But it is not part of Elven life, that makes it appear so cruel to us.”

“For me it is as much part of every day as is sleeping or breathing.” Éomer turned his head slightly to nibble the skin of Haldir's neck. “You did not answer my question, though.”

“That it true.” Haldir chuckled. “I am four-thousand and three-hundred twenty-four years.”

The Man's lips stilled at Haldir's neck. “Oh.”

The surprised sound made the Elf laugh. “That must appear ancient to you.”

“It does.” Éomer kissed the skin under his lips. “But it also just seemes to be a number, not something... real.”

“May I ask you for your age in return, meleth?” Haldir asked, even though he had a general idea what to expect.

“I am twenty-eight of age.” The Elf could hear Éomer chuckle against his neck. “That must appear infantile to you.”

Haldir could not help laughing. “Indeed, it does. But I understand that human time is different from Elvish time. I am far from thinking of you as a child.”

“Good.” Haldir felt Éomer's hand wander over the outer side of his thighs and the Man's lips sucking gently on his neck. “I do not think I want you to treat me as a child.”

Haldir made a small, purring noise. “Oh, do not worry, meleth, there is no risk of that happening.”

“That is good to know.” Éomer murmured while he licked along the Elf's jaw.

Haldir felt desire rise in him. Having his Man that close had a certain effect on his lower region and he was grateful that his back injury had healed so he could engage in some pleasant activities with the Rohirrim. He let his hands skim over Éomer's tunic until he reached the hem, slid under the garment and touched the warm skin underneath, finding a nipple and playing with it. On his neck, Haldir could feel his lover gasp as much as he heard the soft sound, and he decided to go further. Slowly, his hands wandered south until he found the fastenings of the Man's trousers and opened them enough to let his hand slip inside and grasp his erection.

“Oh Gods...” Éomer spread his legs a little bit to grant better access and arched back against Haldir. “Are you well enough for this?”

“Definitely.” Haldir chuckled and moved his hand with a little bit more pressure. “Or do you want me to stop?”

The Man's breathing had changed and his head rested on Haldir's shoulder now, eyes closed and mouth slightly open. “No, how could I?”

Haldir laughed gently, then began to kiss the neck in front of him. He enjoyed how the Man reacted to his touch, how he arched back into him and let out theses gentle little noises that drove Haldir crazy. It was not the first time he was with Éomer, but he felt like there was a new dimension to their touch now, as if Haldir's injury had changed something. It was strange, but at the same time the Elf was certain he welcomed it.

Haldir moved his hand a little faster on his lover's member and used his other hand to turn Éomer's face to kiss him deeply. The Man returned the kiss with enthusiasm and thrust into the Elf's hand at the same time, breath fast and irregular when he pulled back to take in some air.

“Take me.” The low, rough voice made Haldir shiver as well as did the way Éomer's back arched against him.

“Are you sure, meleth?” Even though he wished to be inside his lover, he wanted reassurance.

“Haldir.” Éomer bent his head back and nibbled at the Elf's ear, knowing the effect very well. “Make me yours.”

A low moan escaped Haldir's lips at the words as well as at the stimulation and he pressed his lips onto the soft skin of the Man's neck. “I will, melamin.”

Haldir let go of Éomer's member and let his hands pull the Man's tunic over his head. When the Rohirrim leaned back again, Haldir took pleasure in the contact of skin against skin, letting his hands slide all over the Man's chest, caressing the skin and making his lover moan gently. He opened the fastening of Éomer's trousers completely and with the Man's help removed the clothing. His Man was just beautiful, Haldir thought when he finally had Éomer naked in his arms. His skin, even though there were several scars visible, was soft to the touch, his hair reflecting in various shades from blond to brown in the light of the fire, the expression on his face one of pure pleasure and desire. Haldir kissed Éomer's neck, biting and sucking a little to leave a mark. This Man was his.

“I need to get rid of my trousers, meleth.” Haldir managed to say between two kisses and made the Man give him enough space to remove the thin garment. Once the Elf was done, he sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed. Without a word, Éomer straddled him, bringing their bodies in full contact. The Man's hands found their way into Haldir's hair, twisting into the strands and demandingly pulling the Elf into another kiss. Haldir willingly obeyed the gesture, finding their position to be perfect for him to touch the Man about everywhere. His hands travelled over the broad back up to the wide shoulders, caressing all the skin he could reach, then they wandered down to the narrow hips and even lower to cup the nice backside. Éomer moaned into the kiss, deepening it and pressing into the touch of the Elf's hands at the same time.

Haldir felt inebriated by the Man's reactions to his touch, by their kiss and the sensation of Éomer's erection rubbing against his. One hand left the Elf's long hair and travelled between their bodies, then Haldir felt the Man wrap his hand around both of their members with a grasp that was of exactly the right pressure.

“Oh Valar!” Haldir felt his head fall back and a moan escaped him when the Man began to move his hand. “Éomer...”

Next to his ear, the Elf could hear the rugged breath of his lover, then the Man took Haldir's chin in his hand and turned it to kiss him again, lips hot and open. His tongue invaded the Elf's mouth, hard and demanding, in the same rhythm of his hand.

“I want you.” Éomer said when he let go of Haldir's lips for a moment. “Now.”

The breathy voice let the Elf shiver with anticipation and he sealed the Man's lips again with his own. With his eyes closed, Haldir let his hand slide over the bed to the little table that stood next to it and where he remembered Aragorn having left a little flask with oil he was supposed to use for the healing skin on his back. Well, it would be used in another way now, Haldir thought and had to smile into the kiss. Once he had found the flask, he returned his attention to his lover.

“How?” Haldir did not feel capable to say more, but his lover seemed to understand what he asked perfectly well.

“As we are.” Éomer's answer was equally short, his breath hot against the Elf's skin. To reinforce his point, he moved his hips at the same time with his hand and created a delicious friction on their erections.

Haldir groaned and wordlessly opened the flask, spreading some of the oil on his hand and letting his fingers find his lover's entrance. He circled the opening, then slowly let one finger glide in, always paying attention to spread the oil well. Éomer's breathing quickened against his neck, his hand let go of their members and clung to Haldir's shoulder. The Elf gently moved his finger, satisfied when he heard the Man moan out loudly and felt him starting to pant. He added another finger with some more oil, stretched his lover while hitting that spot again and again. Éomer was writhing on his lap, his eyes closed and his mouth wide open, making those little noises again that made Haldir go wild.

The Elf decided his lover was well prepared and pulled his fingers out, settling his erection at the Man's entrance, applying even more oil before he slowly pushed upwards. He felt Éomer still for a moment, then the Man's hands clawed into his shoulders and he sank down, meeting the Elf halfway with a low groan.

Haldir had his eyes closed, forcing himself to remain still to let Éomer adjust to him. When the Man slowly began to move, the Elf immediately followed him, thrusting into the body on top of him. Haldir was about to loose his control, and he knew it. Éomer seemed to find a rhythm and an angle he liked because he was panting hard and moving frantically. Then he grabbed the Elf's face and pulled him in a deep kiss. It took away the remains of control Haldir had left and his mind narrowed down to his erection inside the Man, to their tongues battling, to their hands grabbing each other. He could only feel, loose himself in the sensation.

He was pushed rapidly over the edge when he felt Éomer's lips close over the tip of his left ear and gently bite down. He heard himself cry out in such a guttural way he was certain he had never done before and then he already spilled his seed in his lover. With the last shred of consciousness, he grabbed Éomer's member and gave it some strokes that seemed to be enough to make the Man follow him in climax. He felt Éomer bite down hard into his shoulder, then hot semen covered the Elf's hand.

All strength seemed to leave his body and Haldir sank back against the headboard of the bed in a boneless sprawl. Éomer just sagged down on top of him, head falling on the Elf's shoulder, his breathing very fast. Haldir felt like he wanted to pass out, he could not remember to ever have been so overwhelmed by a sexual encounter. He lifted his hands to rest them on Éomer's back in a loose embrace and kissed the Man's forehead. Only the irregular, fast rising and falling of Éomer's chest told him the Man was still awake. Without being able to control it, Haldir felt taken over by sleep, such a strong urge as he had never known apart from when he had been injured.

The sun had already trespassed the horizon when Haldir opened his eyes again. He felt his lover snug against his side, the Man's head on his shoulder and one arm possessively thrown over his chest. There was no feeling of stickiness, the Man must have cleaned both of them after Haldir had passed out. The Elf smiled and kissed the top of the head that was right under his chin and caressed Éomer's back with his hand. The Rohirrim stirred and slowly woke up, stretching a little and then yawning.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, meleth.” Haldir answered quietly and let his other hand stroke the wild blond mane. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did.” Éomer chuckled. “I am a little bit sore in places I am not used to be, but it feels good.”

“I hope I was not to wild last night.” Haldir felt slightly guilty. He was aware he tended to loose control over himself when he was with his Man.

“Oh no, do not worry.” The Man kissed the skin of Haldir's chest under his lips. “I have not let anybody ride me in a long time, but I certainly enjoyed every minute when you did it.”

“So did I.” Haldir cupped his lover's face with one hand and made the Man look into his eyes. “Thank you.”

Éomer stretched his neck and pressed a chaste kiss on the Elf's lips. “You are most welcome.”

Then he chuckled again, his fingers tracing Haldir's shoulder. “I think I left a mark.”

The Elf turned his head as far as he could and saw a quite decent bite mark on his left shoulder. “Indeed.”

“Do you mind?” The Man sounded a little bit insecure and his fingers slowly caressed the skin he had bitten the night before.

“No.” Haldir smiled and gently kissed his lover's forehead, then he just lay back and enjoyed the closeness of the Man and the peace of the morning. He would leave the sickbed today for he was fully healed and he would have to go back to all the duties that needed to be fulfilled. His Elves needed to be taken care of, the future course of action had to be defined and the city of Minas Tirith needed reconstruction. This would be one of the few quiet mornings they would have.

It was some time later that they left the bed and dressed, foregoing their armours in favour of light tunics that would render the tasks at hand easier to comply. When he stepped out of the King's House and walked towards the edge of the seventh level to overlook the city, Haldir felt his breath stop. He had seen Minas Tirith in all its beauty, but now there were but destroyed buildings, in between were men and women working to rebuilt their houses. It hurt Haldir to see the such fine handiwork turned into ruins.

“It will take some time to rebuilt the city.” Haldir said quietly and let his gaze wander over the levels of the city.

“The attack left massive destruction.” Éomer agreed, face serious. “It hit Gondor harder than Rohan. Edoras is unharmed, but Minas Tirith lies in ruins.”

“The whole of Middle Earth will need time to recover from the rule of the Evil Lord.” Haldir added and gave Éomer a long glance. “But it is the world of Men that was affected the worst.”

“What will you do, now that the war is over?” Éomer had turned away to look over the city and Haldir thought he looked concerned.

“I will stay in Minas Tirith at least until Estel has finally accepted the crown of Gondor.” Haldir kept his gaze on the Man. “I do not know what I will do after that. I will probably return to Lorien and guard the border of the woods as I have done for centuries.”

“You must have been at this point several times already.” Éomer mused quietly.

“Not exactly at this point.” Haldir replied with a serious voice. Éomer picked up the tone and looked into his eyes. There was no need to phrase what he meant, Haldir saw in the Man's gaze that he had understood. They were both at a point they had never been at before.

“Neither have I.” Éomer answered gently.

“What will you do?” Haldir asked and held the Man's eyes.

“I will stay for Aragorn's coronation as well. But then I will have to return to my country and set it back into order.” Éomer made a short break and his voice was grave when he went on. “And I have to bring my uncle back to bury him next to Theodred in the line of our ancestors as he deserves.”

“It is a hard duty.” Haldir looked him firmly in the eyes. “You are King of Rohan now.”

Éomer sighted deeply. “I know.”

“You do not wish to rule.” It was not a question.

“No, I do not. It is my duty, though, and I will do whatever it takes to make my people and my land prosper, but I never wanted the responsibilities that are bound to the crown. I never wanted to loose the freedom that came with being only a marshal.” Éomer held Haldir's gaze to let him know what responsibilities he meant. The crown demanded certain actions from its King and Éomer could hardly avoid those if he wanted to rule his country in peace and prosperity.

“I understand.” Haldir returned the gaze and smiled sadly. “You will do what is right for Rohan for I know you love your people.”

Éomer's smile was equally sad. “I hope I will make the right choices.”

***

The sun was about to set when Éomer entered the hall for dinner. He just came from his Men who had joined the works of rebuilding the city of Minas Tirith. The bonds between the kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor had grown tighter through the last two battles and had stretched into mutual assistance. Éomer was glad his men agreed to help to rebuild the city, but everybody saw the need for support if the city was to avoid a catastrophe. There was much death and destruction and even the basic needs for water and shelter had not been supplied at the beginning. In combined work of Rohirrim and Gondorians it had been possible to restore the general infrastructure of the city after about a week.

Éomer looked around the hall and saw his sister sit at a table with Leoglas, Gimli and Faramir, the steward of Gondor whom she seemed to like a lot. The Rohirrim walked over to them, still looking around, but Haldir was nowhere to be seen, which was not much of a surprise. They were both fully involved in the reconstruction of Minas Tirith and worked on different parts of the city. They still shared the room, though, and the night was the only time they really spend together apart from councils with Aragorn and other leaders.

“May I join you?” Éomer asked when he arrived at the table. His sister had already seen him and greeted him with a smile.

“Éomer! It is good to see you here for dinner. You seem to work so late often so that I see you at dinner very rarely.”

Éomer smile apologetically. “You are right, dear sister. Please, accept my excuses.”

She just nodded and pointed at the free seat next to her. “Come on, then, join us and eat.”

He sat down and helped himself to the food that was distributed in bowls and plates on the table. He ate silently for some time and just listened to the conversation between Faramir and Gimli before he felt Éowyn nudge his foot. He turned to her, one eyebrow raised in question.

“How are you?” she asked, her gaze serious and concerned. “I see you working from sunrise to long after sunset, every day.”

“There is much to do. The city was immensely destroyed, but you saw that yourself.” Éomer took a sip of his wine, holding his sister's gaze. “It is hard, but it needs to be done. Minas Tirith needs Rohan's help in more than just in battle.”

“I know.” Éowyn replied.

“And how are you? I hear you work no less than I do.”

“There are many affects of the battle that have to be cured.” Éomer saw how her gaze lingered on the Steward of Gondor and she was silent for a moment before she asked quietly: “What do you think of him?”

She did not even need to say his name, Éomer was very well aware she was talking about Faramir. He had noticed his sister's attraction to the young steward and his affection for her. He had watched the two of them for the last weeks and had just waited for Éowyn to come to him to address the matter.

“I think he is a very honourable and decent man. I respect him as a warrior as well as as a person.” Éomer enjoyed it to play with his sister's uncertainty of his opinion. “But that is not what you ask, is it?”

It was one of the few times he had ever seen Éowyn blush. “No, it is not.”

“You like him.” Éomer remarked and watched her look at the Gondorian with this soft smile on her lips.

“Aye, I do.”

“A lot, I guess.” He enjoyed teasing her a bit.

She turned to look at him, the little smile still on her lips. “Aye.”

“And how far do your feelings go?” Éomer already had a suspicion, but he wanted to hear it from her.

Éowyn was silent for a moment, looking at the steward again before turning back to her brother. “Far enough.”

“So I guessed.” Éomer gave her a warm smile. “I am happy for you.”

It felt good to see a real smile blossom on her face. “Thank you.”

“Does he share your feelings?” Éomer asked gently and held her gaze.

She nodded. “Aye, he does.”

“So you found your happiness.”

“I think so.” Éowyn drank a sip of her wine. “And what about you?”

For a moment, Éomer was geniously surprised at her question. “What do you mean?”

“What is it with you and Master Haldir?” Éomer was certain to hear barely hidden curiosity in her voice.

“What are you talking about?” Éomer drank some wine to gain time. He did not intend to talk about things he was not certain of himself, not even to his sister.

“You are close to him.” It was a statement, not a question.

“What makes you think that?” He knew Éowyn was aware that he only replied with a counter-question instead of an answer.

“It is obvious that you befriended him.”

What could he say to that? Of course it was known with the men that the Elven Captain and the Rohirrim Marshal and now King of Rohan shared an apparently deep friendship and it did not surprise Éomer at all that his sister had picked up on the connection between him and Haldir. She was intelligent and a good observer and on top of that she knew her brother very well. So he just stated the obvious. “Aye, we became good friends.”

“And that is all there is?” Her tone was knowing. “I do not think so.”

“There is nothing more I will say on that matter, Éowyn.” he said quietly and demonstratively turned to Gimli who sat next to him. His sister had hit a point and they both knew it, but he did not feel ready to talk about his innermost thoughts. Not now, not when he did not even know how to answer her questions to himself.

***

The night before Estel's coronation had settled over Gondor when Haldir stood in the courtyard and watched the Elven guests arrive in Minas Tirith. He had no idea who was about come, but he had expected Elrond and his sons, for they were Aragorn's family, and he had guessed that Lady Arwen would come. But there were far more riders coming into the courtyard, and Haldir was astonished to recognise his brothers within a group of visitors from Lorien.

With a few steps, he crossed the courtyard to where they dismounted their horses. “Rúmil! Orophin! It is so good to see you.”

Rúmil turned first and a big smile spread over his face when he noticed his brother and he pulled him into an embrace. “Haldir! You are well. We heard rumours that you had been hurt during the battle at the Balck Gate.”

Orophin joined them and embraced his brother as well. “Then those rumours were not true.”

“Oh, they were.” Haldir was happy to see his brothers again and smiled widely at them. “I sustained a gash to my back with a poisoned blade and were in healing sleep for about seven days, but I have completely recovered by now.”

“That does not sound very nice. It is good then that Aragorn was with you. He must have known what to do.” Orophin remarked and followed Haldir towards the King's House.

“It certainly helped.” Haldir agreed. “Did you come for the coronation?”

“Not only, my brother.” Rúmil explained. “You must have noticed Arwen came, and we want to see her finally find her happiness with Estel.”

“He does not know of her presence then?”

“He will find out tomorrow after his coronation. Lord Elrond thought it would be the an unexpected, but perfect surprise.” Rúmil chuckled. “And you know Arwen, she instantly liked the idea.”

Haldir laughed. “Aye, I can imagine that.”

“They deserve their happiness.” Orophin added and entered the building behind his brothers. “They had to overcome so much pain that we would never miss to see them finally united.”

“Aye, I agree.” Rúmil nodded. “Where do you lead us, brother?”

Haldir turned and looked at them. “To my quarters. I thought it would be nice to conclude this late night with a goblet of hot wine at the fireplace.”

“That sounds like a very good idea.” Rúmil replied with a grin. “We have so much to talk about.”

“I share the room with Éomer, nephew of the recently deceased King Theoden of Rohan.” Haldir felt a little surge of anticipation run through him. It was like presenting his lover to his brothers, even though he knew that no indication of his actual relationship with the Man would be revealed.

“Did you fight with him at Helm's Deep?” Rúmil asked, he had always been curious about Men, but not curious enough to actually leave the Woods to learn about them.

“Aye. He came to our help with Gandalf at daybreak.” Haldir still remembered the feeling he had had when he had seen Éomer as the leader of the Rohirrim Riders, the sun in the back, with the strength to turn the seemingly lost battle to their favour.

“He is a good warrior, then?” Haldir was aware that Rúmil watched him closely. His brother was intelligent, he must have picked up onto something.

“Indeed. His Men will follow him because they believe in him.” Haldir replied, simply stating the truth instead of giving his own opinion.

“That is indeed a very good reputation.” Orophin remarked quietly.

“You will meet him in your time here and then you can form your own opinion.” They had reached the door to the room and Haldir opened it and let his brothers in. In the fireplace a warming fire was burning, but otherwise the chamber was empty. Éomer was probably still with his Men, Haldir guessed and made his brothers sit down at the table before he rang for a servant and asked for food and wine.

***

It was late when Éomer left his men to return to the room he shared with Haldir. There had never been a word lost about them remaining in the same chamber together and Éomer guessed that some had suspicions about them, others just thought them to be very close brothers in arms. But then, Aragorn, Legoals and Gimli were sharing a room as well and nobody thought about it twice. Whatever kept them silent was good enough for Éomer. He knew his time with Haldir was limited and he wanted to enjoy it was much as he possibly could.

With a nod to the guards at the doorway to the King's House Éomer entered the building and followed the stairs and corridors that led to his room. As soon as he opened the door, he heard voices from the inside, talking quietly. When he saw Haldir sitting together with two other Elves, he realised that they must be speaking their own tongue and found it sounded beautiful.

The three Elves acknowledged him as soon as he entered the room, but Éomer was certain all of them had heard him long before he had actually come into their sight. During the time he had spent with Haldir, he had learned what excellent hearing Elves possessed and he would not make the mistake to assume that he could surprise them. As soon as he had closed the door behind him, he bowed in a formal greeting to the two Elves he did not know.

“Éomer.” Haldir got up and greeted him. “I present to you my brothers, Rúmil and Orophin.”

Éomer nodded to them. “Welcome to Minas Tirith.”

Haldir turned to them and spoke in his own tongue again. The two Elves who indeed bore a certain resemblance to Haldir, bowed to the Man and said some words.

“My brothers greet you and thank you for the welcome.” Haldir translated. “I am one of the few Elves who actually speak the common tongue, as you may have realised with my archers. My brothers speak only a few words, so I am to translate.”

One of the brothers, Rúmil if Éomer remembered correctly, said something to Haldir and Éomer stood next to them and listened to them talking. The Elvish tongue sounded very soft and calm to his ears and he liked the sound of it, he noticed again.

After a moment, Haldir turned to him. “It is late and my brothers will return to the quarters they have been assigned. I will accompany them and show them the way, but I will not be gone for long.”

“Do not worry, Haldir.” Éomer replied casually. “If you want to spend some time with your brothers, I can spent the night in other quarters. I imagine you have not seen in quite a while.”

“Thank you, but that will not be necessary.” The Elf gave him a little smile. “I will be back shortly.”

The other two Elves bowed and said some farewell before they left the room with Haldir. Éomer listened to them retreating through the corridor before he went over to the bed and started to undress. He was tired from the long day, but he wanted to see Haldir before he went to sleep, even if it was only for some minutes. He settled in bed and was asleep long before Haldir returned. But he felt the Elf come to bed and snuggled back against the warmth with a content sigh.

The morning was bright and clear, the sky of a pure blue and the sun shone onto the city of Minas Tirith. The seventh level of the city was filled with people who wanted to take part in the coronation of the King of Gondor. Éomer stood on his assigned position as the representative of Rohan, next to him Haldir and his two brothers, on the opposite side were Éowyn and her beloved, Faramir, the Steward of Gondor.

With a feeling of unrealism, Éomer watched Gandalf place the crown of Gondor onto Aragorn's head. He heard the song in the old language and bowed to the new King when he walked past, seeing all the others present doing the same. Still, it felt unreal. He was certain Aragorn was going to be a great King for Gondor, but it was strange to see the warrior and the King as the same person.

It was when he watched Aragorn catch sight of Lady Arwen, the light in his eyes and the happiness at their reunion that he felt a wave of sadness hit him. He looked to Haldir who stood next to him and saw the Elf watch the couple with a wistful smile and he knew his lover thought the same thing. There would never be a future for themselves, no reunion forever like there was for Lady Arwen and Aragorn.

The official coronation ceremony was followed by feasting and celebration in the whole city. The festive event was necessary more for the inhabitants of the city than for the new King. It served as a celebration of the coronation as of the achievements in the rebuilding of the city. The people needed a moment of relaxation and positive energy and the occasion was convenient. Éomer enjoyed the festivities as much as everybody else, he spent some time with the Men he had worked with over the past month, some time with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Lady Arwen and the most of the time with Haldir.

The Elf looked simply magnificent, Éomer thought for the tenth time when he looked at Haldir who stood together with to Lord Elrond, Aragorn and Lady Arwen and talked to them. He had obviously taken a bath and was dressed in a plain but beautiful light blue tunic that shimmered as silvery as his hair. The long strands were carefully braided and a silver band sat on his head. Haldir displayed the same ethereal beauty that all Elves possessed and that could be seen on all the Elves who were present at the coronation. But it was only Haldir who attracted Éomer's gaze again and again.

The Rohirrim knew he was not fascinated by the outer magnificence alone, but by the whole being of Haldir, by the many aspects of his character from his outer arrogance to his innermost tenderness. The realization had dawned on Éomer for some time, but he had not dared to think it through. The relationship between them was limited to the time they spent together here at Minas Tirith, afterwards their ways would part and probably never meet again. Éomer was King of Rohan now, he had to return to his country and rebuilt what had been destroyed in the war. There was no time and no place for an attraction for a male Elf in his further life.

Haldir laughed at something Lady Arwen had said and the sound and the sight made a shiver run down Éomer's spine. His Elf was so precious that the Man wished he could protect him from every harm in this world. At the same time he was aware how absurd this urge was on a creature that was more than four-thousand years old and had lived without his protection for millennia and would still be alive when he was long gone. Haldir did not need any protection, especially not from a mere mortal, but the urge was there nonetheless.

Éomer drank some wine, squared his shoulders and walked over to his sister and Faramir. He pushed all thoughts of the Elf aside and concentrated on the moment. It was of no use to brood over this right now when it was time to celebrate and relax.

The day after the coronation began later and much slower than the mornings before. Most people slept in and the works in the city did not start until after noon, but then life went on as it had in the month before. Éomer had began to plan the journey of the Rohirrim back to Edoras, they had stayed long enough at Minas Tirith and the rebuilding of the city had so far progressed that the Gondorians could finish it on their own. It was time to return to Rohan.

In council with Aragorn and several other leaders, Éomer declared that the Rohirrim would leave the city within the week to return to Edoras. When he said the words, he avoided to look into Haldir's eyes, even though he was certain the disciplined Elf would not show any emotion through his normal reserved and arrogant outer shell.

***

It was late when Haldir opened the door to the room he shared with Éomer. The next morning, the Man would leave with his Men and Haldir had done everything in the past week to push that thought away. The preparations had been running at full speed for the last two days and Éomer had been gone most of the day until late at night. But tonight, when Haldir entered the room, he found the Man leaning at the window, back towards the door.

“Tomorrow I will have to leave.” Éomer said quietly without turning. “Éowyn and I have to return to set our country back into order.”

“Aye, I understand.” Haldir forced his voice to stay levelled. He had known this point would come, but it had been easy to forget about it in the time they had been here at Minas Tirith.

“We will leave in the morning, the journey to Edoras is long and we need to start rebuilding our own kingdom.” The Man sounded like he did not like the prospect of leaving too much either and it did Haldir good to know he was not alone in this.

“I will leave in a few days as well to return into the service of my Lady.” Haldir offered and watched Éomer standing at the window, view lost in the distance.

“Life will go on as it has to.”

“Aye, it will.” Haldir stepped behind his Man, put his arm around his waist and whispered into his ear. “Let us leave this circle for some final hours.”

Éomer leaned back against him and bent his head to let it rest onto the Elf's shoulder. “I would like that very much.”

Haldir heard the wistful tone in the rough voice and knew it would be their last night. He tightened his arms, kissed Éomer's neck and silently vowed that he would make this night unforgettable for both of them. The memory would have to last for a lifetime.

***

The sun had just begun to rise above the horizon in the east when Éomer stirred. He felt arms encircling him and instinctively knew it was Haldir who had held him in sleep. The last night had been filled with the most intensive lovemaking, he had taken and been taken in return and he could feel the slight soreness that was a welcome reminder. A gentle smile came to his lips when he opened his eyes and found his Elf watching him.

“Good Morning.” he murmured sleepily and stretched his limbs.

“Good Morning, meleth.” Haldir kissed his neck and Éomer appreciatively turned his head to give the Elf more access. Haldir took up upon the offer and started nibbling the skin under his ear, then kissed a trace over his jaw and made the Man turn his head until he could kiss him. It was the knock on the door that made them stop.

“I ordered breakfast in our rooms.” Haldir explained with a little smile and left the bed to let in the servant with a tray full of food. Éomer took his time to watch his beautiful Elf who had just wrapped a sheet around his narrow hips. The long silver hair flowed over the strong back and he moved with this grace that seemed to be natural to all Elves when he closed the door after the servant had left.

Then he turned to face Éomer with a little smile and pointed at the food. “Do you want to join me in breakfast, meleth?”

Éomer returned the smile. “I would like that very much.”

He got up, wrapped the blanket around his hips and walked over to sit opposite to the Elf at the table. It was a rich breakfast, everything from meat to cheese to fruit and fresh bread that was still warm.

“Thank you.” Éomer stretched his leg until his foot caressed Haldir's shin and smiled at his Elf.

“You are very welcome.” Haldir returned the smile and pressed his shin into the touch. “I figured that you would need a decent breakfast for today's journey and it seemed most convenient to share it with you.”

“Very good thinking.” Éomer slowly let his leg slide up and down in a gentle caress. “It means I can spend more time with you before I have to leave.”

“That was also my thought.” Haldir took a bite of bread and let one hand touch Éomer's over the table. They ate in silence, both lost in thoughts about the upcoming separation. Éomer knew there was no possibility to prevent it, but it still made him feel like he lost a part of his life he could not spare. He would not say so, it was of no use to let the Elf know how much he cared for him if they could not change the course of time. Haldir also seemed uncharacteristically quiet this morning, he had noticed. Had it been anybody else, Éomer would have said he was shy.

“Let me braid your hair for your journey.” the Elf said quietly when they had finished eating. Éomer looked up and wondered for a moment why his instincts told him that this was important to Haldir. For a second, he considered to ask the Elf, but then decided against it.

“Sure. If you want to.” He rose from the table and sat down on the edge of the bed and watched how Haldir knelt next to it. Then he felt his long fingers comb through his hair and braid several small braids that seemed to follow a pattern. It did not take long for the Elf to finish his work and he sat back on his heels and considered his handiwork.

“And? How does it look?” Éomer asked with a teasing grin.

Haldir was quiet for a moment and seemed lost in watching him. Then a small smile appeared on his lips that seemed a bit sad and his voice sounded a little rougher than normal. “Beautiful.”

Éomer felt a shiver run down his spine. He was sure it was caused as much by the sound of the Elf's voice as by his gaze that seemed to caress his skin without even touching him. It let his desire rise instantly and when he licked his lips, he found the Elf's eyes follow the movement. He was definitely not alone with his desire, Haldir's face mirrored it back at him. But there was no further time to act on it and they both were aware of that. Éomer was to leave within the next hour and he could not delay.

“I wished we had more time.” the Man said gently and let his hand touch his lover's cheek.

“Aye, so do I. But we have not.” Haldir leaned in his hand and closed his eyes for a short moment. “You have to get dressed and prepare to leave. There is no time.”

Éomer sighed. “I know.”

Haldir opened his eyes and looked straight and his lover. “Let me help you dress.”

For a moment, Éomer did not know what to say. He understood the request as what it was, an offer to completely trust and be trusted in return, something not easily given between warriors. He felt his heart grow heavy, then he nodded. “Aye.”

Haldir got up and gathered the Man's trousers and his inner tunic, gently pulling the garments on his lover, paying his task his complete attention. With skilful fingers he put on the outer tunic and the chain mail, closed the fastenings of the Man's armour, applied his weapons and finally gave him his sword. Éomer was at the same time shaken and touched by Haldir's devotion and felt his emotions surge close to the surface. Once the Elf was finished, he stood back and lay his hands flat on the armour at the Man's chest.

“Farewell, Éomer of Rohan, melamin.” Haldir's voice was deeper than normal and it tore at Éomer's heart to hear the sadness in it. The Elf cupped his face and gave him a slow but deep kiss, gently toying with the braids that pulled Éomer's hair back.

When Haldir pulled back, his fingers let go of the braids and he took a step back. “You better get into the courtyard. Your Men will already be waiting.”

“I know.” There was nothing he could do or say to ease the pain they both felt at the parting, so Éomer let his hand caress his Elf's face one more time. “Farewell, Haldir of Lorien. I truly hope our paths will cross again.”

“As do I.” Haldir bowed slightly, then Éomer reciprocated the gesture and then turned to leave the room. He heard no footsteps behind him, but he had not expected to either. They had said their farewell.

When Éomer stepped out into the courtyard and mounted Firefoot, Éowyn was already waiting for him, sitting on her horse and watching him silently.

“The braids are very nice. They suit you.” he heard her remark when they rode down the streets to leave the city. He looked over to her to find her watch him with a gentle smile that told him she had meant what she had said.

Éomer gave her a short smile but did not reply anything. He did not feel ready to talk about Haldir, even though he was sure Éowyn had sensed something. He concentrated on the slow ride through the intricate streets leading towards the gates. When they left the city, he turned around and looked back over the white stone houses. At the top of the castle rock, he could see a lonely figure standing completely still. Even though the great distance made it impossible to identify the person, Éomer easily recognized the long, almost white hair flowing in the wind. It made him sad and happy at the same moment to know that Haldir cared enough to watch him leave.

The ride back to Edoras seemed to take ages. Éomer was aware that he was not entirely concentrated on the journey, he was preoccupied with thoughts about Haldir and his behaviour of the morning. It was not very difficult to understand what Haldir had told him with his actions, but Éomer refused to put it in words, even in his mind. Their time together was over now and he had to concentrate on the rebuilding of his lands. With all his might, Éomer pushed every thought about the Elf aside and concentrated on the ride.

***

Éowyn opened the door to the house of healing and looked around until she spotted Melanwyn. With some steps she walked over to the healer and greeted her. She knew the old woman since she had come to Edoras as a child and trusted her deeply.

“Be greeted, healer.”

“My Lady.” Melanwyn smiled at her. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to ask for your advice.” Éowyn said quietly and the old woman understood and led her to the back of the house where only the healers had access to because all herbs and ointments were kept there.

“You worry about your brother.” the healer stated without a doubt.

Éowyn nodded, a concerned expression on her face. “He is very silent, seems not to sleep very well and I think he does not eat enough.”

“So I have realised.” Melanwyn answered with a thoughtful gaze.

“Do you have anything that might help him? A strong tea or a good fruit?”

The healer looked at her with a sad smile. “This is not something herbs can cure, My Lady. They do not function in matters of the heart.”

Melanwyn's words only affirmed what Éowyn had suspected, but she wanted to hear that she was not alone with her assumption. “What do you mean?”

The healer's gaze told her that the old woman was aware that Éowyn knew what she was talking about. “He will only grow back to the spirit he was when he is complete again. I am certain you saw the connection between him and Master Haldir as well as I did.”

Éowyn nodded with a little smile. “Aye, I did.”

“He found his other half, my Lady.” the healer said quietly but firmly. “And he found a very good partner in the Elf.”

“What makes you think that?” Éowyn shared that opinion, but she cherished a second point of view.

“Master Haldir worked with me after Helm's Deep and when we returned here to Edoras.” Melanwyn told her. “He may appear arrogant and unapproachable, but he is honest, caring and strong. He did more than was expected from him, and he took care of Men and Elves alike. He has a good heart.”

Éowyn smiled. “That is my impression as well.”

“But you know your brother well enough to understand he will not follow his heart's desire as long as he sees it contradictory to the good of Rohan.” the healer stated and watched the younger woman carefully.

Éowyn sighted. “Aye, I know that.”

“You will do the right thing, my Lady.” Éowyn wished she would feel as certain about that as the healer's voice sounded. Melanwyn turned and gave her a little bag. “I prepared your favourite tea some days ago, my Lady. It will do you good and help you to think.”

Éowyn took the bag and smelled the content with a pleased smile. “Thank you, Melanwyn. It came at the right moment.”

“It is my pleasure, my Lady.” The old woman gave her a motherly smile when Éowyn thanked her for the advice and left the house of healing, making her way over to the Golden Hall. She felt the need to do something to help her brother. He had been so full of life in the month they had spent at Minas Tirith and she had seen this little smile he had had every time he was around the Elven captain. She thought that, in that month, she had seen him truly happy for the first time since their parents had died.

Eowyn crossed the hall and stopped in the doorway when she noticed Éomer standing outside. For a moment, she watched him standing at the edge of the terrace with his gaze lost in the distance of the night sky. He had an air of sadness around him that she had seldom seen. Ever since they had returned to Edoras, Éomer had put all his strength and devotion into the rebuilding of Rohan, trying to make it prosper. He worked without break, only stopped to sleep for some hours at night and was up again early in the morning. His zeal was good for Rohan and its people, but Éowyn was certain it was not good for her brother in the long run.

“Why did you leave him?” She asked quietly, barely more than a whisper to not disturb the tranquil atmosphere when she slowly approached him and stood beside him at the edge of the terrace. She could not help to notice that he still wore the braids she had commented on when they had left Minas Tirith. He had not taken them out even for bathing, then.

“What do you mean?” He did not look at her, but she knew he was very well aware of whom she talked.

“There is no point in trying to deny it, dear brother.” She gave him a short glance. “I am not blind. And the connection between you and Master Haldir was quite obvious to those who know you well.”

“We tried not to let it show.” He sighted. He would not lie to her and she knew it.

“You miss him, do you not?” Éowyn made it sound more like a statement than a question.

“We both have our duties.” Éomer said with a certain resignation in his voice. “And there is no way to combine them. It is of no importance if I miss him or not, for it will not change anything.”

“Would you like there to be a future with him?” Éowyn knew the question was very direct and halfway expected her brother not to answer it.

“There is none, Éowyn. It is pointless to wish for something you cannot have.” He still had not turned to her and she wished to see his face to read his true feelings.

She decided to be bold and caught his face between her hands and turned it until he had to look at her. “That was no response to my question.”

She could read the answer in the stormy green eyes without him having to say a word. She smiled gently. “You made a good choice. He is a very honourable man.”

Éowyn saw her brother close his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Thank you.”

“You should not give him up that easily.” She said when he opened his eyes.

“I have no choice, Éowyn. I am king of Rohan now, and that title demands certain duties.” She had never heard her brother sound so sad and defeated and it pained her. “I cannot follow my heart. I have to marry and produce an heir. I have to fulfil the responsibility I have towards our people.”

“These responsibilities should not cost you your happiness.” Éowyn felt overwhelmed by helplessness. She understood her brother only too well, it was the same for her. Rohan and its people would always come first for them. But it felt utterly wrong to see Éomer so unhappy and stripped off the liveliness and energy that was so much part of him.

“My first loyalty lies with Rohan. You know that as well as I do.”

She gently pulled him into an embrace and the way he actually accepted and returned it told her more about his heartache than words ever could have. “Aye, I do.”

***

Haldir lay on a branch, stared through the leaves into the darkening sky and took a deep breath. He had been back at Lorien for nearly two weeks now, but his mood had not improved. He was silent and even more withdrawn than he normally was. He could not keep his thoughts from returning to Éomer. To occupy his mind, Haldir had begun to build bows again, a craft he had not pursued in several decades. He was very productive in his free hours, but it had not brought the desired effect.

“You are thinking about your Man, are you not?” Rúmil had approached him silently and was now slowly and gracefully sitting down on the branch next to him. Haldir did not bother to look up, he knew Rúmil would not let go of him before he got an answer.

“He is not my Man.” Haldir said instead of a response.

Rúmil only laughed at that. “Then you are in denial, my dear brother.”

“What do you mean by that?” Haldir frowned slightly and turned his head to glare at his brother, but Rúmil was immune to his stare.

“You feel for him.” the other Elf simply stated. “I saw it in the way you treated him, in every word and every gesture. And I saw the braids when he left.”

Haldir tensed, then he sighted wearily.

“When you braided his hair you stated to every Elf who saw him that he is yours.” Rúmil watched him closely. “And I know you well enough to understand you would not do such a thing lightly.”

He seemed to think and then he added after a short pause: “In fact, I cannot remember that you have ever done it.”

Haldir remained silent and held his gaze focussed on the stars he could see through the leaves. Rúmil simply sat next to him and waited, he knew Haldir was going to speak and just needed some time to order his thoughts. “You are right. I have never done it before.”

“You care for him greatly, then.” his brother stated the obvious.

“More than I should.” Haldir heard himself admit after a moment. “He is the King of Rohan now, there is no place for me.”

“But there was before?”

“Maybe. I do not know.” Haldir sighted gravely. “It is not important anyway, for the situation has changed and he is King now.”

Rúmil was silent for some time, then he turned to his brother with serious eyes. “Does he care for you as much as you care for him?”

“We never expressed in words what we felt for we both knew there was no future.” Haldir held his gaze. “But there was no doubt we both were aware of our connection.”

“So he does return your affection.” Rúmil stated, eyebrows raised.

“Aye, he does. But there is no way we can live our feelings.” Haldir could hear himself how resigned he sounded when he spoke those words.

“So you will just remain as you were for the last weeks?” Something in Rúmil's tone made Haldir look up. “We can all see your grief, dear brother. You are experienced enough that you should be able to realise that you show the symptoms of a broken heart.”

“Do I?” Now that Rúmil had said it, Haldir could indeed see it. Still, it took him by surprise. He had been aware how deeply he cared for Éomer, but up to now he had avoided to name those feelings. He knew it would only make his pain worse. “Aye, I guess I do.”

“It pains me to see you like this.” Rúmil gently touched his brother's arm. “Is there anything we can do to change the situation?”

Haldir shook his head with a sad smile. “There is nothing.”

***

Éowyn looked over the words she had written in the last two hours, then she took a deep breath and rolled the sheet and applied her seal. Then she sent for Aldar, her most trusted messenger who arrived in her chambers mere minutes later.

“Listen well.” Éowyn kept the scroll in a firm grip in her fist. “This is a message for Haldir of Lothlorien. He is the Warden of the Woods. I want you to pass this message to him – and to him only. Nobody else is allowed to receive it.”

The man nodded, took the sealed scroll and put it in a hidden pocket of his tunic.

“Ride fast and safe, Aldar, for this is important.” The Lady gave him an insistent gaze.

“Be reassured, I will deliver your message safely to Haldir of Lothlorien, my Lady.” He bowed deeply and left the Hall. Éowyn let her gaze trail after him and hoped sincerely that she was doing the right thing.

***

“A Man entered the woods.” Haldir listened to Rúmil while they approached the position of the trespasser. “He bears the emblem of Rohan.”

Haldir nodded and tried not to react any different than he would have reacted to a trespasser of any other kingdom. They quickly came to a spot from where they could see the Man walking between the trees. He did not appear suspicious, he rather moved like somebody who wanted to be found. Haldir gave signal to the rest of his Elves and they spread around the Man.

“Why do you enter these woods?” Haldir left the shadows of the trees and revealed himself. “Speak.”

The Man stopped and lifted his arms to prove he had no intention to pull a weapon. “I am Aldar son of Amar. I come from Rohan and I bring message from Lady Éowyn of Rohan for Haldir of Lothlorien.”

Even without looking, Haldir knew that his brother was staring at his back with a smirk on his face.

“You can give your message to us, Aldar of Rohan.” Rúmil said behind him. “We will pass it on.”

The Man shook his head. “I cannot do that, Master Elf, for I promised my Lady to only hand it to Haldir of Lorien in person.”

“Is that so?” Rúmil asked and Haldir could hear the silent triumph in his voice. “You are blessed by the spirits then, because Haldir of Lorien is our captain.”

Haldir stepped forward and slowly walked towards the Man. His archers still had their arrows pointed at the Man. “I am Haldir of Lorien.”

The Man eyed him carefully, then he gave a small smile.“Yes, you are. I recognise you from Helm's Deep. You led the archers that came to our help.”

Haldir nodded and indicated the other guardians to lower their bows. The Man reached into a pocked in his tunic and produced a small, sealed scroll. “I was told to let you know this was important.”

He held the scroll out and Haldir took it out of his hand and put it in one of his own pockets. “In this case, you will excuse me. My Elves will show you a place where you can rest before you return.”

Haldir nodded to Rúmil before he left the group for some privacy. His brother was he second in command and knew very well what to do, there was no need to worry about the other guardians. So he walked until he reached the small stream he had aimed for and sat down on the root of a tree before he took the scroll out of his pocket. He wondered briefly why the Lady of Rohan wrote him, but then curiosity got the better of him and he broke the seal and unrolled the scroll.

The handwriting was small but strong and elegant. It fitted perfectly the woman who had produced it, Haldir thought with a small smile.

“Be greeted, Haldir of Lorien,

I know you must wonder for what reason I send a message to you. It concerns my brother who is very dear to me and, if my impression does not err, so is he to you. Normally I would not interfere with his decisions, but I do not wish to see him unhappy. I am aware that your connection runs deeper than mere fellow warriors and I ask you to think about what exactly he means to you.

I do not know what those braids you did signify, for I am certain they have a meaning, but I know that my brother still wears them and refuses to take them out. If you feel what I suspect you do, then use this information wisely.

To mid July my brother will return to Minas Tirith to bring our uncle home for a funeral within our ancestors. I know the capital of Gondor is faster and easier to reach from Lorien then Edoras is, as the Great River brings you there directly. A meeting at Elessar's court could give both of you the time and leisure you need.

I hope I do not offend you with my boldness, but I feel there is the need to interfere because I know my brother is too stubborn and proud to do what is good for him. I hope you are not, for I wish to see him happy again.

Yours sincerely,

Éowyn of Rohan”

Haldir stared at the scroll in his hand for some minutes, then he read it again. He was not certain his eyes had not mislead him, but after the third time reading the message, he was sure that the Lady was indeed far more daring than most people gave her credit for. And he finally understood why she had insisted that the message be handed to him personally only.

Now he had to decide what to do with the information the Lady had given him. He did not know her very well, but he was certain that the situation must be severe if it made her write something like this. She loved her brother dearly, he was certain of this.

“What shall I do?” Haldir whispered gently to himself. “Shall I go or shall I not?”

“I want you to go.” Haldir turned in surprise to find his Rúmil standing behind him. “You need him, he is your other half.”

“You do not know what the message was about, so how can you give any advice?” Haldir was well aware that his harsh words were meant to be his own defence.

“The Lady of Rohan sent you a message strictly directed at you only. She happens to be the sister of the Man you fell for and a very fierce and intelligent woman, as we both know.” Rúmil made a little pause before he continued. “It was not very difficult to figure out in which matter she was writing.”

“It would not be wise to go.” Haldir knew his own resistance was thin and Rúmil's words made it crumble.

“It is not important whether it is wise or not. I do not want to see your light fade if there is any way to prevent that from happening.” His brother's arms were crossed and his whole posture spoke of determination. “If Lady Éowyn wrote you, she must be concerned. Go and see him.”

“Nothing has changed, though.” Haldir tried everything to convince himself that it was better not to leave for Minas Tirith, even though his heart screamed for it. “He is still King of Rohan and I am a mere guardian of the woods, and an Elf and male on top of it. There is no future for us.”

Rúmil came over to where his brother sat and put his hand on his shoulder. “If he suffers anything like you, she is doing the right thing trying to bring the two of you back together.”

Haldir took a deep breath and let the air escape with a sigh. “I want to see him so much that I do not trust my own judgement where he is concerned. It is my duty to do what is right, not to pursue what I crave.”

“Maybe it is the same this time.” Rúmil just replied with a little smile.

It happened that destiny helped Haldir to make his decision. When he and his guards returned to Caras Galadhon that evening, Lady Galadriel sent for him and Haldir made his way over to meet her. She received him with a friendly smile, but Haldir knew her long enough to be able to read that there was more behind it than mere greeting.

“We will leave for Gondor in a week.” the Lady announced without preamble. “The cortège for King Theoden of Rohan will leave Minas Tirith in less than a fortnight and we will join it. You are to prepare the journey and send word to Estel's court.”

“Aye, my Lady.” Haldir said with a slight bow.

“I want you to accompany us. I understand you have yourself a matter to settle with the young King of Rohan.” She gave him a gentle smile. “You will find time to do so once we arrive at Minas Tirith.”

Haldir returned the smile. “Thank you, my Lady.”

“I hope you will be able to find a satisfactory solution.” Her gaze was firm but it showed concern. “We all want your light to glow brightly, Haldir, not as it was in the last months.”

Haldir nodded slowly. “I will do what I can. As far as I have any influence on the matter.”

“You have great influence.” She fixed her intense gaze onto him. “It is your own opinion you need to question.”

Haldir held her eyes. She nodded with one of her half smiles that always left him guessing what she thought and let him now he might leave.

“My Lady.” He bowed and turned.

It was but a week later that the company under Haldir's guidance left Lothlorien for the haven at the Great River. They would travel mostly on the river, but still the journey would take at least a week and Haldir wanted to arrive at Estel's court with enough time to let his Lady and Lord settle for some days.

It was with relief that he noticed Minas Tirith coming into sight after exactly seven days of travelling. It was noon when they moored the ships to the quays of Osgiliath and early afternoon when they passed the gates of the capital of Gondor. Haldir and Rúmil made their way up to the King's House and organised the housing of their company with the housekeeper who had been informed of his arrival in advance and had already prepared the chambers.

Once the Lady and the Lord as well as his Elves were settled in their respective quarters, Haldir used the bathing facilities to wash off the dirt from the journey and braided his hair, then he put on clean clothes and joined his fellow travellers in the Great Hall to pay his courtesy to Estel and Arwen. He had not the slightest idea if Éomer had already arrived at court or not, but he was certain he would find out once he talked to Estel.

When Haldir arrived at the entry of the Great Hall, he remained dead in his tracks in the doorway and found himself staring at the figure next to Arwen. Lady Éowyn had told the truth, he could see that the braids in the blond hair of her brother were slightly outgrown and ruffled, bespeaking the fact that he had neither taken them out nor redone them in the two and a half months since Haldir had braided them. It felt like a shock of joy as well as of anticipation.

Haldir shook out of his reverie and walked into the hall. He felt himself grow nervous at the prospect of being close to the Man again. For once he had no idea how Éomer would react to his presence and furthermore Haldir also knew he could not resist the Rohirrim. With a last deep breath Haldir approached Arwen and the King of Rohan.

***

The day had been filled with preparations for the departure of the funeral procession of his uncle that was to leave the next morning. Éomer had been at Minas Tirith for three days and it had taken all that time to ready the procession. There would be several high guest travel with them, from Aragorn and Lady Arwen to the Lady and the Lord of Lothlorien who had arrived earlier that afternoon. Éomer had been so occupied with all the tasks he had to fulfil before they would leave in the morning that he had not even had the time to find out if Haldir was with the company of Lorien. The thought had not left him since he had heard of the messenger who had arrived in the morning to announce the Lady and the Lord of the Woods.

It was early afternoon and Éomer stood next to Queen Arwen in the Great Hall, talking with her about the arrangements for the departure of the next morning. The Lady and the Lord of Lothlorien had arrived some time ago and had joined the other guests in the hall, but there had been no sign of Haldir. Éomer had greeted the Lady and the Lord of the Woods but it had not been the moment to ask about his Elf, so he was still waiting to learn if Haldir had been part of the company or not.

“Greetings to you, Lady Arwen and Lord Éomer.” The Man heard a familiar voice behind him and felt himself tense immediately. He slowly turned and felt a wave of several feeling sweep over him, everything from concern to anticipation to desire when he saw the face of Haldir, his slightly amused smile and his expressive eyes that told him that the Elf was not as relaxed as he pretended to be.

“Haldir!” Queen Arwen smiled widely and greeted the other Elf with a cordial embrace. “It is good to see you came as well.”

“Of course I came.” Haldir returned her gesture. “I wish to pay King Theoden respect just as my Lady and my Lord do.”

Éomer listened to them and felt unable to participate in the conversation. His voice was gone and the urge to touch Haldir to convince himself that the Elf was truly there became overwhelmingly strong. With all his ingrained discipline, Éomer forced himself to regain his composure.

“It is a pleasant surprise to see you so soon again.” Éomer said formally and was proud that his voice did not betray the turmoil of his thoughts.

“That is true, my friend.” Haldir was equally polite, but when Éomer caught his gaze, he knew immediately that the Elf felt no better than he did. “May I borrow King Éomer for a moment, my Lady?”

“Of course, Haldir.” Éomer was certain he saw mirth in the Queen's eyes. “I have to look after my other guests anyway.”

Haldir and Éomer bowed when she turned with a little smile and left them standing in the hall. Haldir caught the Man's gaze and said quietly: “Follow me.”

Not for a moment did it occur to Éomer to not go after the Elf, he just followed him through the corridors of the King's House until the Elf opened a door and let him in. Once the door had fallen shut behind them, Éomer felt Haldir's hand in his hair, toying with one of the outgrown braids. The Man leaned against the wood in his back and locked his gaze with the Elf. He had to fight to keep his hands down and prevent them from pulling Haldir close.

“We should not do this.” Éomer said and he himself could hear how half-hearted it sounded. Haldir's closeness did not exactly help him to stay concentrated either, he could feel the warmth of the Elf through his clothes.

“I do not care.” the Elf whispered and came even closer, until his body pressed along Éomer's. His hands wandered down the Man's chest and caused goosebumps to appear all over his body.

“Neither do I.” Éomer decided and buried his hand in the long silvery strands to pull the Elf into a fierce kiss that bespoke all the longing that had built up over the last two and a half months. All his desire came up at once and his hands buried in Haldir's clothes, trying at the same time to get beneath them and pull the Elf closer.

“Éomer...” The hoarse sound made the Man shiver.

“I love it when you say my name.” Éomer whispered in the Elf's ear and began to nibble at the sensitive top. Haldir consequently let out a moan deep in his throat and pressed closer to his lover, hands gripping into his hips. He brought their groins into contact, letting the Man feel the evidence of their mutual desire.

“Éomer...” Haldir's hands found the Man's backside and held on, slowly rubbing against the thigh that Éomer had pushed between his legs.

“You feel so good.” Éomer was slightly surprised at how breathless and needy he sounded, even to his own ears. He met the Elf's lips halfway for another kiss, one hand tangled in the long silvery strands, the other caressing the Elf's back.

“You have to many clothes on.” he heard the Elf complain teasingly and then he felt how his tunic was pulled over his head, followed by Haldir's own. There was an urge to their touches that had built over the last months, a need to feel and to reassure the other was there. Éomer felt his Elf kissing his neck, licking down over his bare chest, finding a nipple and gently biting down on it. The Man could no help a low moan, his fingers fisting in the long silvery strands.

Haldir switched to the other nipple, then he slowly let himself sink to his knees, leaving a trail of kisses and licks on his way down to the Man's groin. His hands found the fastenings and opened them quickly before pulling down the garment. Éomer felt the fresh air brush over his skin just before the Elf's mouth closed over the tip of his erection and with a throaty groan the Man's head fell backwards to lean against the wooden door in his back.

The Elf's tongue trailed along the length of his shaft, hand closing around the root and moving in sync with his head. Éomer felt like he was loosing all ability to think with every touch of his Elf and found he did not care the least, all that counted was that Haldir was here with him, his incredibly skilled mouth on the Man's erection and his hair under the Rohirrim's fingers.

“Oh Gods, Haldir...” If the Elf went on like this, Éomer knew he would not last very long. His whole body leaned against the door for support, his knees would not carry him much longer. The Elf was very skilled at this, he managed to make the Man groan again and again, slowly being reduced to a mass of nerve-endings that responded to the Elf's touch.

“Haldir...” It took Éomer a great effort to actually form words. “I am too close...”

The Elf did neither stop nor slowed down his pace. With all his strength, the Man forced some more words out. “I want to come with you.”

That seemed to work, for Haldir gently let go of Éomer's erection and got up from his knees until his head was right next to his lovers. He nibbled at the Man's throat, his hand still wrapped around his shaft, and whispered with a rough voice, “I want you.”

The words made a shiver of anticipation run down Éomer's spine and his response was equally hoarse. “Then take me.”

***

“Let us enjoy the luxury of Estel's bathhouse, meleth.” Haldir suggested when the evening approached. “We should be clean for the feast tonight.”

Éomer smiled against the skin of the Elf's chest. “I got a completely new relation to bathing since I know you, Haldir.”

Haldir chuckled. “In a positive way, I hope.”

“Indeed. I always remember how much fun it can be to take a bath with you.” the Man answered and kissed the Elf's throat.

“Let us make our way over to the bathhouse, then.” Haldir said, smile evident in his voice. They got up from the bed, put on their old clothes and gathered new ones to change for the dinner after bathing. The bathing facilities were in a separate part of the King's House and there were several large tubs in different rooms. Haldir and Éomer choose an empty room and had the tub filled with hot water while they undressed and stepped into the large tub.

“Shall I redo your braids?” Haldir asked casually while he sat back in the hot water.

Éomer laughed gently. “Aye, I think they seriously need to be redone. They lasted long the way they are.”

“That is true, melamin.” Haldir grinned and then lazily glided through the water towards Éomer. He opened one braid after the other and let his hands glide through the hair to loosen the strands, at the same time enjoying the feeling of their softness under his fingers. He took the soap and slowly washed his lover's hair, enjoying the way Éomer leaned into his touch. When they had finished bathing and had returned to their chambers, the Rohirrim's hair was mostly dry. Haldir sat behind him on the bed and carefully braided the strands in the same fashion he had done before.

Once he was finished, Haldir fingered one of the newly made braids and began to gently toy with it. The fire played with the colours of Éomer's hair and varied them again and again.

“So, will you tell me what they mean?” Éomer asked quietly and enjoyed to simply lean back against the Elf and lie in front of the fire.

“Hmm?” Haldir nuzzled the Man's ear and knew he was just trying to gain time because he was not certain he was ready to answer that question.

“The braids.” the Rohirrim added quietly.

“May I ask you something first?” Haldir lazily let his fingers trail over the Man's chest, drew tangled patterns and played with the chest hair that so fascinated him.

Éomer made an affirmative little sound.

“Why did you keep the braids?” Haldir felt his heart actually speed up while he waited for the answer.

“I cannot explain it, but they feel important. For you. And therefore for me.” Éomer's voice was low, barely audible, but Haldir's sharp Elven hearing easily picked the words up. He let go of the breath that he had not realised he had held, relaxed and buried his face in the blond curls in front of him.

“They are Elven love braids.” he answered gently. “For me, they are important.”

Haldir felt Éomer tense for a moment and fought down the panic that threatened to rise at the Man's reaction. Then Éomer relaxed and snuggled even deeper in his embrace. “So they are for me.”

The Elf felt a smile spread over his features. After a short pause, he heard Éomer add something, his voice considerably deeper and a little bit husky. “I'm glad I did not take them out.”

“Me too, meleth.” Haldir agreed and gently kissed the temple of his lover.

“Love.” Éomer said quietly.

“What?” Haldir was confused for a moment, he could not follow the Man's train of thought.

“You called me love.” the Man explained.

“You understand my tongue?” Haldir was very surprised and at the same time felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. He should have considered this possibility instead of simply assuming that the Man did not understand him.

“Enough to know what the endearments you used mean.” Éomer answered and Haldir was relieved to hear the smile in the Man's voice. “I understood the gradual change from friend to love, too.”

“You did not tell me.” Haldir said and was relieved that there was no reproach in his voice.

He felt Éomer slowly shake his head. “Nay.”

“Why?”

“Because the assumption that I did not understand you made you say honestly what you felt.” the Man said gently. “It was my way of knowing what this whole thing between us meant to you.”

“You are right, meleth.” Haldir replied and kissed Éomer on the neck. “I used these names because I thought you did not know what they meant.”

The Man let his head fall back to rest on Haldir's shoulder. “Would you teach me your tongue?”

For a moment, the Elf was silent. “You would want to learn it?”

“I would.” Éomer kissed the ear in his reach and smiled. “I want to understand and speak your beautiful language.”

“I would be honoured to teach you.” Haldir answered and let his arms slide around the Man in an loose embrace.

“I have to leave tomorrow for Edoras, though.” Éomer said quietly and rested his lips against the Elf's neck.

“I will be part of the procession and the burial ritual to show my respect, as you know. So I will be with you at Edoras, I can teach you then.” Haldir suggested, letting his hands draw slow patterns on the Man's chest.

“That is a good idea.” Éomer caught the Elf's hands and pulled the arms around him in a tight embrace. “It will be good to know you with me, during the procession as well as afterwards.”

“I will do whatever I can to support you.” Haldir said gently and tightened his hold on his lover. “I understand how difficult it is to bury a loved one and show strength at the same time.”

“Thank you, my love.” Éomer replied, then paused. “Melamin.”

Haldir could not help smiling, at the words as well as at the meaning. “You learn fast, meleth.”

***

The morning was clouded when they left Minas Tirith with the cortège that would take the dead King Theoden back to Edoras where his burial would take place. Éomer rode at the head of the procession, Haldir to his right and Aragorn to his left. It would take them several weeks at this speed to reach Edoras and Éomer was glad he had Haldir with him. The journey itself might not be tiring at its slow pace, but the emotional strain that had not worn off yet concerning the death of his uncle and the new duties as King of Rohan wore him out. It was the knowledge that he could leave everything behind when he was finally alone with his Elf that made him stand through the days.

When Edoras came into sight, the way of the procession to the Golden Hall was framed with the people of Rohan who had come from all over the country to pay their last respect to the fallen King. Éomer felt his throat tighten at the sight of the masses standing in ghostly silence to both sides of the way, bowing when the bier of the dead King passed them. It was an atmosphere of deep respect and sincere mourning that let a shiver run down Éomer's spine. He hoped he could follow the example of his uncle and be the kind of King his people needed and would respected. He had never been meant to be King of Rohan and at this moment he felt truly inadequately prepared for the task lying ahead of him.

It was then that he felt a leg against his and he turned to find Haldir had ridden close enough to brush his leg. The Elf gave him an encouraging nod, his eyes smiling at him since he could not do it openly in the middle of the procession. The small gesture gave Éomer the strength to sit up straight and ride with the dignity worthy of the King of Rohan. It was his duty to his people and he would master every obstacle that may come.

When they arrived at Meduseld, Theoden was laid in state in the hall in a silent ceremony. The burial would be in two days, when the ceremony and celebrations in memory of the great King were thoroughly prepared. Éomer was tense in those days. Haldir was not sharing his quarters but had a separate chamber and they could not spend as much time with each other as the Man would have liked. It was difficult to even find a moment alone and even more unlikely that he could spent it with the Elf.

Then the day of the actual burial of King Theoden had come and Éomer felt the weight of the whole kingdom on his shoulders when the bier with the body of his uncle, covered in a golden cloth, passed him and was carried into the burial mound. The ceremony made it final that the time of King Theoden was over and that the days of King Éomer had begun.

The celebrations after the burial were the greatest feast the Golden Hall had ever seen. It had taken two days to prepare it, but the work had been worth it. Éomer saw his people remember with a laugh, saw them eat and drink together while sharing stories and games, saw them dance and smile and knew that the feast had served it purpose. He stood at the upper end of the hall and watched his people and all the different guests from Elves to Gondorians to Dwarfs mingle contently in the festivities.

“It is a great celebration.” Éomer heard a familiar voice behind him and did not need to turn to know who it was.

“My uncle would have liked it.” the Man said quietly, but with a little smile. “He would have wanted the people to smile at his memory, not to cry.”

“Then you succeeded to fulfil that wish.” Haldir stepped next to him, but remained in an appropriate distance, and lowered his voice. “Let go of your grief, meleth. That is what this celebration is meant for.”

“I know.” Éomer's voice was equally quiet. “I try to go on. It helps to see Éowyn smile again.”

Haldir followed the Man's gaze to where the Lady of Rohan stood together with the Steward of Gondor and Arwen. Her smile was gentle and full of affection for the Man at her side.“She has found her happiness, it seems.”

“Aye, she has. She truly deserves it.” Haldir turned his head to watch his lover. Éomer's smile was gentle and sincere. “She wants to marry him.”

“And you agree.” It was more a statement than a question.

“She made a wise choice. Faramir of Gondor is a good man and he is as fond of her as she is of him.”

“She will leave Rohan, then.” Haldir remarked quietly. It was another blow for Éomer, not that the Man would ever say so aloud. He wanted his sister to be happy and he would not do anything that might prevent her from going her way, even if it hurt him.

“Aye, she will.” He smiled wistfully. “She asked me to announce her engagement to Faramir tonight.”

“So the decision is taken.” Haldir watched the Lady of Rohan again and found that she had done the right thing. It was obvious that she was happy with the Steward, and the glow in the Man's eyes told him Faramir shared her feelings. Haldir adored Lady Éowyn and respected her deeply, he wanted her to leave the times of dearth and worry behind. “Is already set when she will leave?”

“No. She will stay at Edoras for some more time, though.” Éomer sounded relieved and Haldir understood that with Éowyn the last of the Man's family would leave. “It is time to make the announcement.”

Éomer stepped forward and Haldir remained where he stood at the upper end of the Golden Hall and watched his lover go over to Éowyn. He talked to her and Faramir for a moment and then they went with him to the centre of the hall. Éomer raised his voice and greeted the people gathered and announced the betrothal of his sister to Faramir of Gondor with the old words, a smile on his face. Éowyn seemed to glow from within and Faramir smiled widely when Éomer put his sisters hand in the hand of the Gondorian. It was good to see true happiness after the long times of mistrust and grief, Haldir thought with a little smile.

The celebrations went on until the morning had broken and the birds had started to sing. When Haldir returned to the quarters he had been given and shared with his brothers, he felt exhausted emotionally and physically. He would have wanted to go to sleep with Éomer in his arms, but he was well aware of the eyes that were fixed on the new King who still had to prove himself. With a little sigh Haldir lay down on the bed and stared at the wooden ceiling. He did not have any idea what kind of future he had with the Man – if there was any at all. His brothers were long asleep when Haldir was finally overtaken by sleep as well.

The following days were spent in amicable gatherings for meals and spare time to recover the long periods one had not seen each other. Éomer was gone for some time, needing to fulfil his duties as the King of Rohan. There was much to do after the mess Grima Wormtongue and the war had left. Haldir joined Éomer in some tasks to take some weight off his shoulders, and Lady Éowyn seemed to have the same idea and engaged thoroughly in the work that needed to be done. There was much financial organisation to do and Haldir and the Lady took it over to leave Éomer to the tasks that demanded his presence. In the evening, Haldir found the time to teach his lover some Sindarin for an hour or two before they attended dinner.

It was one evening about a fortnight after King Theoden's funeral that Haldir and the Lady sat bent over some parchments and some books when Éomer entered the office they worked in. He closed the door silently behind him and approached his sister and the Elf. “How are you doing?”

Lady Éowyn looked up and smiled. “We do fine. There is much left to go over, though.”

“You worked the whole day on this, is it not tiring?” Éomer asked and Haldir caught his gaze.

Lady Éowyn shook her head no. “It is difficult, but Master Haldir is excellent with this kind of work and I learn a lot from him.”

“Well, you have worked enough for today. Dinner will start shortly, leave the books be and prepare for the meal.” The Man smiled gently at his sister. “You look like you would not mind some time away from the paperwork.”

“Indeed, an evening without numbers and calculations would be nice.” The Lady stretched her neck and got up. “Master Haldir, you must stop working as well, otherwise I will stay.”

Haldir smiled at her and nodded, putting the quill demonstratively aside. “I will, my Lady. I care for a relaxed evening as much as you do.”

She smiled at him warmly. “I will see you at dinner, then.”

With the graceful movements that seemed so much part of her, she left the office and closed the door. Haldir was certain she would prepare for dinner and then spend some time with Faramir before arriving at the Golden Hall. She saw as little of him as Haldir saw of Éomer for they spent most of their time together in the office going over Rohan's finances. Haldir looked down at the papers and sanded them to make the ink dry before he set them aside, orderly piling them in one corner of the table.

“Stay.” Haldir was surprised by the word and turned to look at Éomer who stood at the desk, watching him intently.

“What do you mean?” For a moment, Haldir was confused for he did not know what the Man talked about. His mind was still partly occupied with the calculations he had just completed with the Lady.

Éomer pushed away from the desk and walked over to stand next to the table Haldir sat at. “I do not wish for you to leave.”

The Elf suppressed a smile. “I will take that as a compliment.”

Éomer's lips quirked. “You may do that. But still, I am serious. If it was possible, would you want to stay?”

“Aye, I would.” Haldir did not really have to think about that question, for he was very well aware that Éomer was important enough for him to leave the Woods on a continuing basis.

“Is there a way to do so?” The Man's whole posture betrayed his tension.

Haldir was silent for some time and thought about the question. He wanted to stay, but his loyalty to the Lady and the Lord was strong, he did not want to leave their service. After a few minutes he said slowly: “There might be a way.”

“What idea do you have?” Haldir was able to hear the suppressed hope in Éomer's voice.

“I will have to speak to my Lady and my Lord before I can do anything.” The Elf pointed out before he explained his idea. “I can ask to remain at Edoras as an ambassador for Lothlorien. I already teach you our tongue and it is in the interest of all involved that the relations between Lorien and Rohan grow strong and secure.”

“I agree in that point.” Éomer said slowly and nodded. “The Evil Lord might be defeated, but it was certainly not the last threat to our countries. I would indeed like to strengthen the relations between Lothlorien and Rohan, even more so if you are the ambassador.”

Haldir smiled at the last sentence. “I would do my best to be a worthy ambassador.”

“Do you think you will be permitted to stay?”Éomer asked with a notion of doubt in his voice.

“I will ask my Lady and my Lord tonight. It is their decision, not mine.” Haldir did not like to promise what he could not decide, but he was fairly certain that the Lady already had plans on her own what concerned him and the King of Rohan.

“I would like to know you here at Edoras at my side.” Haldir felt Éomer's hand slowly playing with a strand on his silvery hair while the Man talked.

“So would I.” Haldir smiled gently.

“Will you spend the night with me?” The Man's voice was a mixture of uncertainty and wishful longing. “I hate to fall asleep alone every night knowing you are so close.”

“You are aware of the risk we are taking.” Haldir did not want anything more than to return to Éomer's quarters tonight and forget about the rest of the world. But he did not intend to harm his lover because of his physical desire. “You are the King and I do not want to endanger your reputation.”

“I do not care what could happen.” The rough sound of the Man's voice sent a shiver down Haldir's back. “I need you close. I thought I had lost you once before and it was the worst time of my life. I will do everything for Rohan, but you are the one to give me the strength to do so.”

Haldir felt a lump build in his throat and swallowed in an attempt to get rid of it. “I will be at your side, meleth. But I have question I need you to answer.”

Éomer nodded seriously. “I will answer any question you ask.”

Haldir nodded and felt slightly nervous. It was not a feeling he was used to and he did not like it. “You are King of Rohan. It is your duty to produce an heir to continue the line of your family. Will you marry?”

Éomer was silent for a moment, but held Haldir's gaze steadily. “Nay. I could not.”

Haldir nodded and felt relief wash over him. The answer had no influence on his decision to ask his Lady to stay at Edoras, but he knew that, even though he would have endured it, it would have killed him to see another person at Éomer's side.

“I do not know how to solve the problem with an heir, however. I will have to find a solution when the time has come, but I will not marry.” Éomer's voice was firm and certain and it made Haldir smile in relief.

“That is good to know.” Haldir did not like how much his relief could be heard in his voice.

Éomer must have heard it as well for he let go of the strand of hair he had played with and cupped Haldir's face with both hands, sinking onto his knees in front of the Elf and caught his gaze. “Never think anybody could take your place, melamin.”

Haldir had to smile at the use of his tongue. He knew Éomer meant what he said. “I will not. Amin mela lle, Éomer.”

The colour rising into the the Man's cheeks told him he had understood the meaning of the words. “As do I, Haldir.”

The Elf smiled gently and leaned forwards to brush a chaste kiss on his lover's lips. He felt the Man's hands slowly caress his neck and let his own hands find their way into Éomer's hair, toying with the braids that pulled the wild strands back. “You do know that any Elf who has seen you with these knows we are lovers, do you not?”

Éomer chuckled. “It has occurred to me.”

“You are still wearing them, though.”

“Aye, I do. Even if I wanted to, there is no sense in removing them now after I wore them long enough for everybody to notice.” The Man shrugged casually. “And I do not wish to remove them. I understand that our kind of love is common for Elves, even though it is less common for Men.”

“For two males to love one another and live together is in fact commonplace within Elven society.” Haldir agreed. “We love a person, not a gender.”

Éomer chuckled after a moment. “I just wonder how many Men actually understood the meaning of the braids.”

“That is a good question. I reckon not to many know Elven braiding techniques well enough to place them. Aragorn will have, though.” the Elf pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“I think he and Legolas already had their suspicions beforehand.” the Man replied dryly but with a measure of humour.

“Aye, they had. Aragorn talked to me, after I woke up after my injury at the Black Gates.” Haldir informed his lover with a teasing smile.

“What did he say?” There was curiosity as well as suspicion in the Rohirrim's voice.

“He let me know that you never left my side while I was down and that you even set camp next to me. And that it took your sister's strong hand to get you to rest yourself once I was out of danger.”

“I was worried.” Éomer said quietly, almost shyly. “No, I was terrified. To see you so lifeless was as bad as finding Éowyn after the battle of Pelennor Fields and thinking she was dead.”

Haldir let his fingertips caress the Man's face with small reassuring strokes. “I am sorry I put you through that.”

“It was not your fault.” Éomer caught one of Haldir's hands and kissed the inside of his wrist. “It could have happened to anybody of us and I am just glad you came out of it all right.”

“So do I.” the Elf said while looking at his hand that his lover held. “Still, I never wished to hurt you.”

There was a pause while Éomer gently kissed the Elf on the lips. Haldir felt himself respond to the touch immediately, but he pulled back. It was no the time right now.

“We have to go to dinner.” Haldir remarked reluctantly. “We cannot be late, everybody will be waiting for you.”

“You are right.” Éomer got up from his knees and stretched. Then he looked up and down himself and sighted. “I will have to change.”

“Indeed, you do. As do I, so I will see you in the hall in some minutes.” With a last, short kiss, Haldir left the office, heart lighter than it had been in a while.

***

“You are here as well.”

Haldir looked up and found Rúmil walking towards him through the garden behind the Golden Hall and nodded to him. “I see you found my favourite place.”

“I was not looking for you, but for a nice place to enjoy the sun.” Rúmil explained while he joined his brother on the bench under the old tree. “And I remembered the Lady mentioning this garden, so I decided to look it up. She was right, it is beautiful.”

“So it is.” Haldir agreed and turned his face towards the morning sun, enjoying its beams on his skin.

“I saw King Éomer still wears your braids.” Rúmil said after some time of comfortable silence. “Does he know what they mean?”

Haldir turned his face towards his brother and steadily met his eyes. “Aye, he does.”

“He is mortal. That will not change, brother. You know you will loose him at some point.” Rumil gave him a worried gaze. “How can you deal with that? It seems cruel beyond measure to me.”

Haldir gave a small, sad smile. “It is. But I would not change my decision, for he is worth every moment of pain I know will come after his death.”

Rumil was silent for a moment, then he chuckle. “Who would have thought that my proud, arrogant brother would fall for a mortal Man.”

Haldir looked at him and felt his lips twitch as well. He could see the irony in it, a few months ago he would have laughed at everybody who would have told him he could love a Man. “Nobody, I guess.”

“Certainly not me.” Rumil grinned. Then he grasped his brother's arm and turned serious again. “But I know he is good for you. I am happy you found your other half, even if he is a Man. Not all of us are so lucky, some never find it.”

“Thank you, my brother.” Haldir said, his voice a little rough. “It means a lot to me.”

“I know.” Rumil nodded with a little smile. “You will stay with him here, will you not?”

Haldir was silent, then he nodded. “Aye. The Lady granted me permission to remain in Rohan as an ambassador for Lorien.”

“She knew it all the time, did she not?” Rúmil said, his voice bespeaking the admiration he held for Lady Galadriel.

“So it would seem.” Haldir agreed. The Lady was known for her visionary abilities, her gift of foresight and her excellent understanding of all people around her, be it Elves, Men or Dwarfs. If several other persons like Aragorn and Rúmil had seen the affection Haldir held for Éomer, she certainly had known of it long before anybody else.

“We will leave tomorrow morning to return to Lorien.” Rúmil said after a pause. “You will come to visit us, I hope.”

“I certainly will. I promised Éomer to show him the beauty of Lorien at some point and I intend to do so.” Haldir smiled. “He is quite talented with languages, it seems. He has already gained a fair grasp of Sindarin and I think he will manage our tongue well enough in some time to be able to talk with our people.”

“It is good to see you smile again.” Rúmil remarked with a smile of his own. “Your light glows brighter than I have ever seen it.”

“Your acceptance and the possibility to stay with him are a big part of my happiness.” Haldir admitted and turned his face towards the sun again.

Rúmil followed his example of enjoying the sunbath and they fell back into comfortable silence again.

Haldir spent the evening with his people. He knew he would be gone from the Woods for some time and he wanted to talk and laugh with his friends for some hours before they were to leave the next morning. When he stood in front of Meduseld with Éomer and several others to bid farewell in the morning, he bowed deeply in front of the Lady and the Lord and thanked them again for the permission to stay.

The Lady gave him a gently smile. “There would have been not point to deliberately make you unhappy, Haldir. And you are certainly the best person to establish a firm relation to Rohan, so the idea to stay as an ambassador was logical.”

“I owe you my deepest thanks, my Lady.” Haldir replied with another bow.

“Make the best of the chance you are given and we will be content.” She mounted her horse with the grace that was inherent in her and he was dismissed. With a few steps, Haldir walked over to his brothers and embraced Rúmil, then Orophin.

“I wish you all happiness, my brother.” Orophin said seriously when he released his brother. “I cannot say I understand you, but I can see that he is good for you.”

“Thank you, brother.” Haldir was surprised at Orophin's sudden acceptance. Over the whole time before, he had not really acknowledged Haldir's attraction to Éomer even though Haldir was certain he had noticed it.

“You are welcome.” Orophin nodded and mounted his horse. Within some minutes, the company was ready to leave and Haldir watched his people ride out of the gates of Edoras. It felt strange to stay behind, but at the same time it was a new beginning.

Haldir took a breath and turned towards Lady Éowyn who stood next to him. “Do we want to go back to our books, my Lady?”

She smiled and nodded. “Aye, we have a lot to work on.”

***

Winter was about to leave the country and let the spring set in. The afternoon sun stood low and let some warming beams shine onto Haldir who sat at his desk and went over some books when he heard Éomer approach the chamber. Shortly afterwards the Man entered the room and came over to where the Elf sat.

“How is your work going, lirimaer?” Éomer asked and gently let his hands settle on Haldir's shoulders in a soft massage.

Haldir sat up straight to grant his lover more access and leaned into the touch. “Quite well. Rohan developed greatly in the past months.”

Éomer applied some more strength to loosen a knot in his lover's shoulder. “It is to you that we owe that development. You put as much work into rebuilding Rohan as I did, even though it was not your duty.”

The Man bent over and kissed the Elf on the temple. “Thank you, my love.”

“I come to love Rohan and its people.” Haldir said quietly. “My first impression of their open friendliness has only been strengthened over the time I spent here. I want Rohan to recover from the times of war and I want it to prosper. That is what I work for.”

Éomer felt inexplicably happy about these words. He let go of Haldir's shoulders and wrapped his arms around the Elf from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. “You have no idea what that means to me.”

“I think I might have.” Haldir settled his hands over Éomer's. “It must be similar to the pleasure I take in hearing you learn and love my language.”

“Aye, I think that might compare.” Éomer turned his head to kiss the Elf's neck. Haldir let his hand tangle in the Man's hair and pulled him closer for a gentle kiss. With a nearly silent moan Éomer returned the touch, deepening the kiss and simply enjoying the contact.

He noticed the knock on the door only halfway before he heard the door open. Éomer let go of Haldir and looked up to find his doorward, Háma, looking at them with a somewhat surprised expression.

“Oh. I am sorry, my Lord.” Háma bowed and began to retreat.

“Come in, Háma.” Éomer knew his face must be red and he tried to ignore how uncomfortable he felt.

The older Man entered but remained at the door. Haldir let his gaze wander between Háma and Éomer for a moment, then he got up and walked to the door, about to leave. “I have to go to the library for some books. I will see you later at dinner.”

Éomer looked at his lover and saw the little, nearly completely suppressed smile at the corners of his lips and knew that Haldir retreated on purpose to give him the opportunity to deal with the situation as he felt appropriate. Éomer nodded and watched the Elf leave and close the door behind him.

“What was it you wanted, Háma?” Éomer turned to the older man.

“May I speak openly, my Lord?” Háma had already been his uncle's doorward and the captain of the King's guards and he did the same for Éomer. He had known the young King for most of his live and Éomer trusted Háma deeply, so he nodded to the request without further thought.

“The people love you, my Lord.” Háma said with a voice that left no doubt about the sincerity of his words. “They know you are a good king. And they realised you are an even better king if your heart is complete.”

Éomer's head jerked up and he looked into the captain's eyes. “What do you mean?”

Háma had a teasing smile on his face, but it was good-natured. “We are not blind, my Lord. We see that you are finally your old self again since the Master Haldir came to Edoras.”

Éomer felt the blood creep into his cheeks. It was embarrassing how obvious they must have been if the people of Rohan had realised how much Haldir meant to him. Háma just laughed good-naturedly.

“You are a warrior yourself, my Lord, and you spent as much time with the Riders as I did. You know shield-mates are quite commonly accepted within our warriors, and I am certain you know several who never married.”

Indeed, he did. He had never given it an thought, though. It had not been any of his business whom his Riders preferred in bed as long as it did not influence their performance on duty.

“Some may not like it, my Lord, but they will accept it. The people know and respect your sacrifices, they will not ask you to give up your happiness.” Háma said after a pause, voice and expression sincere.

“I never thought it was known.” Éomer said with a worried glance at his captain. “I expect people to disapprove, for I have to set an example, marry and continue the bloodline of my ancestors.”

“It is indeed your duty. But it does not have to be you who continues the line, my Lord.” Háma remarked. “Your sister is adored by her people, they see her as the defeater of the Witch King. Her children will be accepted on the throne of Rohan without any protest.”

“I could never ask that of her.” Éomer said with a serious expression. “And I will not.”

“She is not blind either, my Lord.” Háma replied. “She knows about your problem and she certainly plans to do something about it if she can somehow help.”

Éomer sighted. “You are probably right. What do you recommend, Háma?”

The older man looked at him, eyes sincere. “It may appear odd, but I recommend you to officially bind yourself to Master Haldir and to adopt Lady Éowyn's child if she offers to you.”

Éomer was silent for a while, thinking about what his captain had said. “Do you think people will accept a bond of their King with a male Elf?”

“Normally I would say they would not, but they know Master Haldir for over a year by now and they respect him, they even start to trust him. It is well known that it was thanks to him and his archers that we survived the battle of Helm's Deep, and everybody can see his sincere work for Rohan.” Háma made a short pause, as if he was hesitant to continue. “I do not intend to repeat gossip, my Lord, but the people have been talking about your relationship to him from the beginning. Most are aware that you are more than friends and they know you share quarters. They lived with the idea of their King in a relationship with a male Elf for quite a while by now.”

Éomer did not know what to say to that, he was at a complete loss of words. He had known that there were rumours, but he had never thought that his people took is as a fact that he and Haldir were lovers. The two of them had not been obvious, there were never any gestures or words in the company of others that betrayed their relationship. It was true, though, that they shared quarters and that they had never hidden that fact, for it would have been impossible to hide anyway.

“It would be a statement of strength to stand by Master Haldir and justify what everybody knows anyway. Make your unusual way to reign as legal as possible by taking Master Haldir as your mate and adopting your sister's child.” Háma said with all sincerity. “Your people will accept it, and they will follow you because they believe in you. Now you have to prove your belief in them by trusting them to support you in your decision.”

“It seems a big step to take.” Éomer said quietly.

“It is, my Lord.” the doorward replied. “But I think that you have gone through enough ordeal with your people to trust them.”

“Aye, we probably have.” Éomer looked at the older man. “I thank you for your honesty, Háma.”

The other man bowed with a little smile. “You are welcome, my Lord.”

“What did you want in the first place, by the way?” Éomer asked when he remembered that there must have been a reason why the doorward had looked for him.

“Oh, I wanted to inform you that Lord Faramir has arrived.” Háma reported. “He waits in the Golden Hall for you.”

Éomer nodded. “Good.”

He left with the older man to go to the hall and entered to find Faramir standing in the middle of the large room. With a few steps, Éomer reached the Steward of Gondor and greeted him with a smile. He liked the Gondorian and approved of Éowyn's choice to marry him.

“Be greeted, Faramir of Gondor. It is good to see you.” Éomer clasped his arm in a handshake.

“Be greeted as well, Éomer King.” Faramir returned the handshake and the smile. “I am glad to have arrived.”

“How was your journey?”

“Long, but uneventful.” the other man said with a shrug. “The kind of journey we all wished for when the Evil Lord ruled.”

“That is good to hear.” the Rohirrim replied. “I hope it will remain that way for a long time.”

“As do I.” Faramir agreed. “We cannot help to still be very alert during travel, but it is good when our attention is not requested to protect our company.”

“It means we are slowly getting rid of the remains of Sauron's evil armies.”

“We are. It will still take some work, though.” When the Gondorian's suddenly shifted and his face lit up, Éomer followed his gaze and saw his sister had entered the hall. She looked beautiful in her white dress, hair flowing openly over her shoulders and her eyes bright with joy. A content smile appeared on her face when she saw her fiancé and Éomer knew her well enough to notice that she restrained to keep her steps even and her pace appropriate.

But when she reached them, she actually embraced the Steward and kissed him gently on cheek. “It is so good to see you.”

Éomer watched how the Gondorian wrapped his arms in a possessive, but gentle embrace around Éowyn and how his eyes closed in bliss when she kissed him. Éomer could not help a certain wistful feeling to rise in his chest. He wished he could openly show his affection for his Elf as well, that he had not to control his every movement around Haldir to not betray how much the Elf meant to him. If Háma was right, this whole pretending was for naught anyway, for all of Rohan already knew.

After a moment, Éowyn let go of her fiancé and stood next to him, keeping his hand in hers. Éomer just needed to have one look at her face to know how happy she was and he found again that it made the prospect of her leaving Edoras a little bit easier.

“We will have a great dinner tonight to celebrate your arrival, Faramir.” Éomer declared after a moment. “I hope you will enjoy the time at Edoras. I am certain my sister will show you all that is to see about the city, but feel free to ask me for a tour if you wish to do so.”

Faramir smiled. “I thank you for the offer, my Lord. I will certainly come back to it.”

“We will see for dinner, then.” Éomer walked past the couple to return to his study. There was still some work to do, and he needed a moment to sort his thoughts. The words of Háma had not left him alone, he had to think about what the doorward had said. He knew Háma was trusted by the people and that the man was honest and loyal to him. What he had said was certainly true and well reflected. But his recommendation was indeed a big step, and one he could not decide alone to take. It concerned Haldir as much as him, and if they were to bind to one another, it had to be both of their wish.

After some time of staring off into the distance, Éomer decided he would speak to Haldir this night and ask him for his opinion on the matter. There was nothing more he could do about it a this point, so Éomer turned towards the letters he still had to write and concentrated on the work instead of his private problems. The afternoon passed in silent working until a firm knock made him look up.

“Come in.” Éomer looked up from the letter to his second marshal he had been writing.

“Brother, I need to talk to you.” Éowyn stood in the doorway, serious expression on her face.

“What can I do for you?” he asked and set the quill aside.

She came in, carefully closed the door behind her and walked over to her brother's desk and sat down. “It is about you and Haldir.”

Éomer stiffened, but remained silent. Everybody seemed to want to talk about him and the Elf lately, he thought with a sigh. He had known Éowyn had been aware of his affection for Haldir for a long time, but they had never really openly talked about it.

“You are aware I know how you feel about him.” She stated and left no doubt she knew.

Éomer nodded but still did not say a word.

“Judging by the developments of the last year, I assume that you will not marry any woman but stay with Haldir.” Her expression was serious, but not condemning. “I spent a lot of time with him and I feel quite certain to say that his feelings for you run as deep as yours for him.”

Éomer did not feel comfortable in his skin. He nodded nevertheless, for he knew Éowyn would not do anything to harm him, even if she could be quite unpleasant at times. His instincts told him she was trying to make a point and therefore stated all the things that had been silently known all along.

“I will leave in a month for Gondor to marry Faramir.” Éowyn looked him straight in the eyes. “I have talked with him about this many times and we agreed on something. We want our second born child to live at Rohan and to be your heir.”

Éomer was silent. He was overwhelmed by the offer his sister made him and he knew what it must cost her to agree to give away her own child to cover her brother's miss. He was deeply touched and at the same time shocked. “Éowyn...”

He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I can never accept that. I cannot ask you to give up your own child because I chose not to have one.”

“First of all, you never asked it of me, I offered it on my own accord.” Her voice was gentle, but firm. “And secondly, you did not choose not to have children. You chose to be with the one you love and not to break his heart by taking a wife. I do not think you did anything wrong.”

“I do not want to put that burden onto your shoulders.” Éomer said slowly, eyes serious. “It is not your duty to provide an heir for Rohan.”

Éowyn smiled gently and a little chiding. “You should know me better, dear brother. I may marry into Gondor, but Rohan will always come first for me. Faramir knew that from the first moment on. And I do not give up my child, I let it know the country I belong to and I hope it will love as much as I do.”

“But your child would have to live in Rohan, to grow up here to understand the people and the country. You would have to give it away and I dare not to ask that of you.” His voice was sincere, his eyes pained.

Éowyn took his hand and made him look at her. “Listen to me, Éomer. I know what I am offering and believe me that I do not wish to be parted from my child. But I also know that there are ways for my child to know both Ithilien and Rohan and that this is the only way to ever see you happy. For you as for me, Rohan's good is connected to our own happiness.”

She made a short pause and smiled. “And I trust you and Haldir to love and raise my child as if it was your own. It will have two families who love it instead of one.”

Éomer sat motionless for a moment. “I still feel like I cannot accept your offer.”

“I ask but one thing of you.” Éowyn looked at him firmly. “Announce Haldir as your mate.”

Éomer could not help to let out an only halfway amused snort. “It is interesting you are already the second person to say that to me today.”

“I am?” She looked genuinely surprised. “Who else dares to talk to you about such a thing?”

“Háma.” Éomer told her. “But it was rather forced, for he walked in on Haldir and me.”

“That explains it. He was aware of your relationship for quite a while, I guess.” Éowyn did not seem too shocked somebody else knew about them.

“That does not seem to surprise you.”

She laughed good-naturedly.“Of course not. It was an illusion to think you could keep your feelings for him a secret. They are written plain across your face whenever he is in the same room as you are. People had to be blind and stupid not to notice it.”

“You never bothered to tell me.” Éomer could not keep a certain disapproving note out of his voice.

“What good would it have done?” his sister just asked, not guilty in the least. “You were happy again and the only thing you could have done was to send Haldir away. And I never want to see you again in the state you were in after we returned from Minas Tirith.”

“Was it so bad?” Éomer had been aware that he had not been in the best condition at the time, but he had done his work as he was supposed to.

“Aye, it was. You seemed to have lost all your energy and motivation, you only worked and worked as if to keep your mind occupied.” She looked at him with caring eyes. “There was no life in you and I never want to see that happen again.”

Éomer understood that his sister as well as some others must have been quite worried at that time and he found that he would not let go of Haldir again, not even for Rohan. “I will talk to Haldir tonight. It is both of our decision.”

Éowyn smiled approvingly. “You will make the right decision.”

“I owe you and Faramir more than I can ever repay.” Éomer said seriously.

“You can repay us by taking care of our child as if it was your own.” she replied sincerely. “I want it to grow up with all the love we would have given it.”

“It will.” Éomer was certain of that.

***

It was dark when Éomer returned to the chambers. Haldir was in bed, back against the headbord and reading a book. When the Man opened the door, he looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Have you finally managed to escape the celebrations?” he asked teasingly and closed the book.

“It was difficult, but I managed.” the Man replied with an amused smile. Haldir enjoyed watching his lover undress in front of the bed, the fire drawing patters of changing light on his skin. Sometimes the Elf thought that it was good that Éomer had no idea how attractive he actually was, for it meant he was there for Haldir alone.

“You are beautiful.” he said quietly.

Éomer turned, surprised, and let his tunic fall onto a chair. “Me? No, my love, you are the one of us who is beautiful.”

Haldir chuckled. “I prefer to see your beauty than mine.”

The Man came over to the bed, only clad in his trousers, and sat on the edge. “I want to ask you something, melamin.”

Haldir looked at him, concerned because of the serious tone and the tense posture of his lover. “You may ask me whatever you want.”

Curious as well as worried Haldir watched Éomer nervously lick his lips and avert his eyes. Then the Man took his hands in his and raised his gaze to firmly look at the Elf. “Haldir of Lorien, do you want to become my mate and openly share my life?”

Haldir went still for several moments. He was completely taken by surprise by Éomer's words. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

“Aye, I am.” He could see how the Man nervously bit his lip while waiting for the Elf to answer. After the first moment of surprise, Haldir had a massive amount of thoughts running through his mind. He was a rational person and could not keep from remarking the obvious difficulties that came with a King of Men binding himself to a male Elf.

“It would be nice if you could say something, Haldir.” the Man remarked and a worried expression had come onto his face.

“Do not misunderstand me, Éomer. If it was just us, I would bind myself to you immediately.” Haldir took a deep breath to make himself say what had to be said. “But there is a whole kingdom standing behind you and I do not wish to create a break between your people and you. I know that the people here accept me, but I am not certain that acceptance will go as far as to tolerate you binding yourself to me. I am an Elf, after all, and male on top of that. I am well aware these are not the best qualifications for the mate of the King of Rohan.”

To his surprise, Éomer chuckled. “I guess you knew as little about the rumours spreading in Rohan as I did, then.”

“What rumours? There are a lot of them.” Haldir was aware of more than the people thought because they did either not know or not consider his sharp hearing. He had gotten to know things he never had wanted to know, and many rumours were certainly part of that.

“Háma talked to me. As well as Éowyn.” Éomer began and chuckled again. “They both independently from one another let me know that we have been part of the rumour mill right from the beginning. For instance, I was not aware that the people have seen us as lovers for the whole time.”

“I heard some people talk about it.” Haldir remembered one conversation between two stable boys he had been privy to listen to when he had tended to Merod. They had freely discussed what they thought about Éomer and Haldir sharing quarters and Haldir had been amused to hear them guess about their love life and bed activities. “But a rumour circulating and a fact like a bond are two different things.”

“I will never marry a woman, Haldir. That is independent from us binding officially or not.” Éomer stopped and licked his lips again, but did not lower his gaze. “I want you by my side for the rest of my life. The people who really count know about us already, the rest of Rohan speculates about us anyway. I think we can take the step to make our relationship open – if you wish to do so.”

Haldir thought about it for a moment. Those who were important for him were the same ones who had wanted him to stay at Edoras to become happy. The Men he had come to like were mostly those who loved Éomer enough to only want his best. It was not him who could loose a lot, but Éomer who was so convinced that he wanted to take this step that Haldir felt the same desire. Just the idea of being able to touch his lover openly was enough to make him smile and say: “I wish to do so.”

A large, happy smile spread over Éomer's face and let Haldir know in certain terms he had done the right thing to agree. In the next moment, he felt the Man's arms around him and soft lips pressing against his.

“You make me complete, my love.” Éomer murmured gently against the Elf's neck when he buried his head in his hair, arms still tightly embracing Haldir. The Elf let his arms wrap around his Man's waist and pulled him close.

“And you are my other half, meleth.” Haldir enjoyed the feeling of the soft skin under is fingertips and caressed the broad back of his lover with slow strokes. “We still have a problem with your succession, though.”

Éomer pulled back enough to be able to look into Haldir's face. “Éowyn came to me today. She had an offer for us.”

Haldir remained silent even though he knew the Lady well enough by now to guess what her offer had been. He wanted to hear it from Éomer to be certain.

“She and Faramir want their second born to grow up in Rohan and to be my heir. She quite clearly pointed out to me that I would certainly not produce an heir of my own and that her loyalty to Rohan would always come first.”

“I am right to assume you did not accept her offer easily, am I not?” Haldir continued to caress his lover's back while listening attentively to his words.

“Aye. She was very insistent, though.” Éomer admitted.

“She is very strong-headed. I dare to say even more than you are.” Haldir said teasingly.

Éomer only chuckled. “Aye, you might be right with that.”

“We owe her very much.” the Elf admitted slowly. “How can we ever repay her?”

“That was her only condition.” Haldir heard his lover remark. “She said that we could repay her by loving her child as if it was our own.”

“I do not think that will pose any problems.” the Elf replied and kissed his lover's forehead. “This child will be a symbol of love, from your sister to you, for us, for Rohan and Gondor. We will love it as our own.”

Éomer leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. “That is what I said.”

***

Epilogue

The sun was standing high on the sky, shining through the leaves of the old tree. The garden behind the Golden Hall was filled with people from Rohan and Gondor, with Elves from Lothlorien and Rivendell. Éowyn could see Aragorn and Lady Arwen stand next to her and Faramir in the first row, a little bit further were Haldir's brothers, Legolas and Gimli. On the other side of her stood Lord Elrond of Rivendell and Lord Celeborn of Lorien.

The Lady of the Woods had taken her place next to Gandalf right under the tree at the end of the walkway. In front of them Éowyn saw her brother, clad in a beautiful green tunic and wearing a rich cloak facing Haldir who wore a simple but magnificent white tunic covered by a cloak as well. Éowyn had to smile when she noticed that the Elf's hair was braided in the same manner her brother's had already been for so long. She knew what the braids meant by now and Haldir had explained to her once that it was only allowed for one lover to braid the hair of the other. The thought of her brother learning to braid Haldir's hair was somewhat amusing and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

Éomer and Haldir had announced a fortnight ago that they would bind themselves to one another and the news had been taken by the people with mixed reactions. Some agreed with their King's choice, some had issues with Haldir being an Elf, some with him being male. There had been no open protest, though, and Éowyn suspected it was much due to the respect everybody seemed to have for the Elf and the work he had already done for Rohan. They might not all like him, but they had realised he was good for their King and for their country; and Éowyn knew Haldir had some influential people on his side who thought highly of him, one of them being Melanwyn, Edoras's chief healer.

This day there would be two ceremonies. The first one was the traditional marriage ceremony of the Rohirrim people, the second one the bonding ritual of the Lorien Elves. Éowyn looked forward to them, especially the Elven ceremony that she knew only very few Non-Elves had witnessed up to now. It was strange to see her brother being engaged before she was, but at the same time she enjoyed seeing this happy expression in his eyes and the bright smile on his lips.

Gandalf had been chosen to carry out the Rohirrim ceremony and he began to recite the old words, letting first Éomer and then Haldir repeat their vows. Afterwards they were given the traditional goblet to share the marriage wine followed by a chaste kiss to seal their bond. Éowyn was relieved when the people of Rohan cheered enthusiastically once the ceremony ended, for it meant they accepted it. Her brother looked up after the kiss, a bright smile on his lips that was mirrored in Haldir's face.

Then the Lady of the Woods stepped forwards, her ethereal beauty and her serene charisma letting the people fall silent, attentively watching the Elven bonding ceremony. Haldir and Éomer knelt in front of the Lady and took each others hands. With a graceful motion, the Lady set her hands onto their temples. Éowyn watched all three of them close their eyes and heard the Lady speak a few words in her own tongue. After a moment of silence, she retreated and left Éomer and Haldir to remain in their position.

Two Elves approached who Éowyn recognised as Legolas and one of Haldir's brothers, each one holding a small but elaborately decorated silver box. They halted two steps behind the kneeling men and waited for them to opened their eyes. Haldir turned first to take a simple but magnificent silver pendant out of the box his brother held, then he turned and spoke words in his own tongue, fastening the chain with the pendant around Éomer's neck. Afterwards, Éowyn saw her brother take a different but equally beautiful pendant out of the box Legolas provided, and she was surprised to hear him say the same words Haldir had spoken before in fluent Elvish tongue while he put the chain around his mate's neck. Then the Lady of the Woods said some Elvish words again and Éomer and Haldir rose to their feet, bowing towards each other.

The present Elves started to clap their hands with content smiles on their faces and the Men joined them, understanding the end of the ceremony. Éowyn kept her gaze on her brother and noticed him slowly, almost caressingly stroke over the pendant. It had the shape of a tree that was entwined with decorative plantlike elements. Even though it was not overly elaborate, it looked like the most impressive jewellery Éowyn had ever seen. She looked at Haldir and recognised his pendant as a stylised horse with the same plantlike elements as on her brother's necklace.

She smiled, understanding the meaning of the necklaces. They signified the essence of the partners of the bond and were exchanged. Éomer carried a part of Haldir with him, and Haldir a part of Éomer. A sunbeam caught in her brother's pendant, making the tree reflect the light.

A beautiful idea, she thought with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: The idea of the Elven love braids was taken with permission from Meri's “Bond of Honor.  
> A/N 2: I would really love to hear some comments. It took much work and time to write this story and a little feedback would make my day. So, please let me know what you think!
> 
> The lovely fic banner was made by my dear Megan_Moonlight!


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